


Into Oblivion

by GlassHawk



Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Other
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-04-28
Updated: 2016-07-05
Packaged: 2018-06-05 03:39:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 12
Words: 40,452
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6687706
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GlassHawk/pseuds/GlassHawk
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A second dream encounter with Lapis has left Steven desperate to save her. But even if he can find a way to free her from Malachite, will she ever be the same? And for that matter, what to do about Jasper? He's not entirely certain, but that sure doesn't mean he won't try to help them anyway. It definitely won't be easy, though... as he'll soon discover.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Normal text is in the present, while _"dialogue in italics"_ represents thoughts.

Steven glanced at the warp pad. They still weren't back.

As always.

With a gentle sigh, Steven pulled up his legs and pressed them tight to his stomach, and he allowed himself to sink deep into the couch. Even though the Crystal Gems had only been gone for a few hours, the house (to him, at least) felt like it'd been empty for days.

_"Man, I wish they'd just take a break for once... isn't that what I taught Pearl and Amethyst to do? It's like they're working themselves to death!"_

Steven shook his head as the thought crossed his mind. Though _he_ knew the many benefits of rest and recreation after a hard day's—or in their case, month's—work, the Gems would never hear it. He could practically hear their voices already:

_"Steven, finding Malachite is more important right now. I'm sorry."_

_"Steven, I'm afraid we need to look for Malachite first. Besides, you know I've never been fond of sleeping."_

_"Now's not the time. Those clods need to be located and dealt with accordingly."_

_"Come on, little guy, just a little longer! We can do this."_

"Yeah, we _can_ do this... without me, right?"

Now Steven _knew_ he was being selfish. Ever since he had developed the ability to use his shield, Pearl, Garnet, and Amethyst had always been generous with allowing him to go on missions. But every now and then, there were simply times when they just wouldn't let him come along. Usually because it was 'too dangerous,' as they put it.

Even though he knew they were looking out for his well-being, however, he still wasn't too happy about their decision this time around. Could looking for Malachite in a typhoon belt really be _that_ dangerous, compared to what they'd done in the past? It wasn't like they were fighting a gem monster, or something even more threatening.

_"... Unless we actually find her."_

Just then, a loud echo burst throughout the house and brought Steven back to reality. He jumped up from the couch.

"Did you guys find Malachite?"

The beam from the warp pad faded mid-sentence. Garnet was the first to step off and walk to the foyer, and she was followed closely by Amethyst, Pearl and Peridot. She stopped in front of him and kneeled down, coming eye-to-eye.

"No, Steven, I'm afraid we didn't. My future vision was incorrect."

"Oh... I understand." Steven sighed and put his hands in his jean pockets. The Crystal Gems quickly swapped glances.

"Uh... well, look on the bright side!" said Pearl. "At least we're narrowing down places to look... right?"

None of the other gems said a word. Pearl's eyes fell to the floor.

There was no bright side.

* * *

Jasper closed her fist. She couldn't see it.

Just like the last time.

The more she thought about it, the more Jasper realized she had no accurate sense of time. She hadn't since the moment Lapis dragged them down to the bottom of the sea. For all she knew, it had been days since her captivity began. Maybe weeks. Months. Years.

It all blended together. But it wasn't like she was in a rush. On the contrary, she had all the time in the world.

And that was the problem.

Jasper grit her teeth and growled, and she waved her arm out blindly in front of her. The dark made it impossible to see. Instead, the only feeling she got was resistance from the water, the same infinite oblivion all around her.

It was time to try again.

Jasper kicked her legs down under, and waved her arms to her sides. Gaining speed and movement as her limbs synchronized, she swam up the pitch-black waters like a rocket, faster and faster. She had to wonder how high she could get before the chains would kick in, and drag her back down below.

Whenever it was, it would be before she reached the surface. It always was. She came _close_ to breaking through, sure, but Lapis was always there to stop her. It was inevitable.

... Aside from that one time. She still didn't know how or why it happened. She didn't even know _when_ anymore. But those variables didn't matter; all that did was that it happened at all, and it was still fresh in her mind.

She still remembered when she broke free from the water, and brought Lapis down to take her place.

It didn't last long. Only a moment or two, before Lapis summoned her wings and regained control. But even if it _was_ just for a few seconds... to be above the surface, free at last, was worth the struggle. She'd do it all over again.

But to Jasper, that felt like an eternity ago. It very well might have been.

She had no idea.

* * *

Steven rolled on his side. His eyes met the bright ambush of his digital clock screen; the time read 11:39 PM. _"Why can't I get any sleep?"_

It was well known among the family that Steven was a pretty heavy sleeper. Once he hopped in bed, it usually took just a few minutes for his eyes to shut for the night, and for wonderful dreams to follow soon afterwards. It was rarely a difficult process.

But tonight, something was on his mind. And he needed to find out what it was.

Steven sat up in his bed and turned to the downstairs level. All the lights were off, but he had a feeling she was still there.

"Hey... Garnet?"

"Yes?"

Steven whipped away the covers and hopped to the floor. He then went to the head of his stairs and jumped down two at a time. Just as he expected, on the couch sat Garnet, her legs propped against the coffee table and her arms crossed.

"Steven, why aren't you asleep?" she asked. "You know it's well past your bedtime."

"Yeah, yeah, I know." Steven waddled over to the couch and hopped up, settling in next to her. "I actually wanted to ask you something."

"Oh? And what's on your mind?"

"Well, it's just..." Steven locked his hands and clicked his heels together; his eyes danced around the room, but stayed away from Garnet. "I've been thinking a lot about it recently, and it's because of how much we've been looking for Malachite. And I think I can only ask _you_ this, not the others."

"Go on, Steven," said Garnet. "What's bothering you?"

"Garnet... what makes a fusion?"

* * *

Garnet cracked a smile.

"What makes a fusion? Steven, you already know what it's like to be fused. I'm not sure what you don't understand."

"No, that's not quite what I'm talking about," sighed Steven. "What I mean is... look. I know this'll sound weird, but just compare yourself to Malachite for a second. What makes you so _different_ from her?"

"Different? How so?" asked Garnet.

"In appearance. Malachite looks like some scary monster from a movie, but you aren't anything like that. Why?"

Garnet paused for a moment to collect her thoughts. Steven was certainly asking a valid question; though he had experienced it for himself before, he still knew very little about the finer details of fusion. And like he said, not even Pearl and Amethyst could teach him these as well as her.

Time for a lesson.

"Steven... do you remember what it felt like to be Stevonnie?"

"Of course! It was a little weird, though... I still had control of myself, but I felt like I was a part of something bigger. Connie and I were at a beach the whole time. It was really bright and warm, and the water was calm."

"I see... the beach makes sense, you and Connie have grown up near it your whole lives," said Garnet. "You see, Steven, when two gems fuse, the originals don't just disappear. Rather, they're instead sent to a place within the mind itself."

"Within the mind itself?" asked Steven. "What do you mean?"

"Well... think of it this way. When two gems combine, everything about them, such as gem types, abilities, personalities, and _especially_ the relationship between them is taken into account. And as the fusion takes hold, your two minds become one, and the environment your previous separate forms will reside in is created. In your case, it was the beach. A bright, cheerful place."

"Wow... I guess that explains why we'd be somewhere so nice," nodded Steven. "Connie and I are best friends, after all. But what about Malachite? Do you think her realm is like the place I visited that one time, in my dream with Lapis?"

Garnet's face fell downcast. She removed her shades and gently placed them on the coffee table, before gently squeezing Steven's shoulder.

"Steven, Lapis and Jasper have a toxic relationship. They both despise each other, and will do anything they can to undermine the other. Couple that with their clashing personalities, and you have a mixture where nothing good will come. And I'm afraid that mixture is Malachite.

"To answer your question, Steven... whatever her realm is, I imagine it's like a prison for them both. Didn't you say you watched Lapis and Jasper get dragged down somewhere in your dream?"

"Yeah, that's right... why?"

Garnet sighed. "Then that's where their fusion realm is. And whatever it is they see down there... to put it _nicely,_ it's horrifying for them both."

Garnet's eyes shot back to Steven. Giving a light chuckle to break the silence, she pulled him into a quick hug and kissed the top of his head. Steven wholeheartedly wrapped his arms around her in return, and snuggled his head into the crook of her neck.

"But you don't need to worry about that. Have I helped you understand fusion more?" she spoke.

"You sure have... thanks, Garnet," replied Steven. His eyelids began to droop. "You know, I think it's about time for bed..."

"I agree."

Steven was still wrapped tight in Garnet's arms when she stood up. She quietly walked to his stairs, and carefully made the trip up to his room. When the two reached the side of his bed, she gently laid him on the mattress and pulled the covers over him. And then, just before she prepared to leave, she kneeled and gave him one last kiss on the forehead.

"Good night, Steven..."

"Good night," he mumbled in reply. She stood and started to walk back downstairs.

"Hey, wait!"

Garnet stopped. She reversed on her heel and turned around.

"Yes?"

"Um... you still haven't really answered my _other_ question, now that I think about it. What makes you and Malachite so different?"

Garnet placed a hand to her chin, and her three eyes closed simultaneously. "Steven, Ruby and Sapphire have a very healthy relationship. But as for Malachite... her bond is based on hatred and negativity. As a whole, the fusion is extremely unpredictable, and it very much shows."

"Is that why she looks so different compared to you?"

"It is. The relationship between fused gems affects more than just the fusion realm in your mind. It also affects the gem's physical appearance. The more stable a fusion is on the inside, the more it'll be on the outside."

Steven gently nodded his head. He closed his eyes and stifled another yawn; his sleepiness creeped into his eyelids and made them heavy. He curled up in his blankets and brought them closer. "I understand now..." he mumbled at last. "Thank you, Garnet."

Now it was Garnet's turn to nod. Once again, she turned around to leave. But just at the head of his stairs, she craned her neck to give him one last look.

"Good night, Steven."

"G'night..."

Garnet walked down his stairs and across the kitchen. Steven vaguely heard the sound of the temple entrance sliding open, only for it to close just a moment later. He let his eyes fall shut at last.

* * *

Lapis tugged at the chains. They finally held firm. She had stopped moving.

"Thank goodness..."

Safe with the knowledge Jasper had tired herself out again, Lapis tightly balled her hands into fist, and she sank to her knees. Her eyes trickled down to her murky reflection in the water below: her short blue hair, unkempt and frazzled, stuck out like a sore thumb. Her deep blue eyes, once bright and pulsing with life, throbbed dull and lifeless, and her chest heaved with each breath.

But she wasn't about to let go.

For the next few minutes, save for her own troubled breaths, the room fell quiet. Even if just for a little while, she had won herself peace; she knew from experience Jasper was too tired to fight to get to the surface again. Now was the time to recollect her strength, and start the cycle over.

But then a noise broke through the dead air and darkness, and cut through the silence like a knife. It wasn't made by her. And it sounded like... water.

Lapis opened her eyes. She stumbled to her feet and yanked at the chains again; there was no telling what it was. Was Jasper trying to break free again? Was she already at the surface?

The chains felt solid. If they were loose, it meant Jasper was getting higher up; it definitely wasn't her. But if it wasn't Jasper... then what?

Lapis' gaze whipped around the room, and she looked for something, _anything_ different from what she could remember. Her answer came from just a few feet behind: a tiny, yet continuous stream of pond ripples broke at the surface of the water, like someone threw a stone. The tiny, almost inaudible blurb of water was the source of the noise. But the odd part was, the ripples didn't just die away; rather, they continued to come forth, and repeat in a never ending pattern. On their own.

And then they started to get bigger. Lapis' heart sped up.

_"B-but why? It can't be Jasper... what's going on?"_

Lapis' eyes shot from corner to corner, but her eyes met nothing but the darkness of the beyond. She grunted, and shifted her attention to above, instead of from side to side.

And that's when she saw it.

Directly above the freely flowing water ripples, a small, red speck slowly descended from the darkness above. It was almost unnoticeable at first, but she could see it better the lower it came: it looked to be some kind of creature, and its arms were spread with its back to the floor. She couldn't get a good look at its face, but closer it came. Closer.

It crashed to the ground behind her, still flat on its back. She angled herself to face it, and let her eyes latch on and look it over for a moment. And then she saw the yellow star.

It was Steven.

* * *

Steven's eyes blinked open. He groggily sat up and brought a hand to his temple, and shook his head.

"Ow... what's going on? Garnet, did you—"

"STEVEN!"

He stopped dead in his tracks. That voice sounded familiar.

Adrenaline quickly coursing through his body, Steven hopped up to his feet. He took a quick glance around the chamber, and he half-expected the walls of his bedroom and the windows to the beach; instead, all he got was complete and utter darkness. _"Where on Earth AM I?"_ he thought. _"Is this some kind of dream?"_

He got his answer when his eyes fell upon her. Every muscle in his body froze.

"Lapis!"

"Steven!" she yelled again, falling to one knee. She tightly shut her eyes and waved her chained arm in front of her, as if she were keeping him at bay. "What are you doing here?! I told you not to come back! I don't need your help!"

"I-I didn't try this time, honest! I don't know how I got here!"

"THEN GET OUT! LEAVE ME ALONE SO I CAN FOCUS!"

Steven tightly grabbed his head. He forced himself to take a breath.

How? How was he back here again, as a part of Malachite? _Why_ was he here? Was it some kind of sick coincidence, returning to this place not even a _few minutes_ after discussing fusion with Garnet? Why was this happening again?

And then it dawned on him. If he was going to get any answers, he had to get the most critical information first.

"Lapis, please, I understand you want to hold Jasper down, but TELL ME WHERE YOU ARE! I can help you!"

"You could never understand, Steven! Now leave!"

Steven said nothing; rather, he quietly dragged his feet to the chain bound gem. His eyes traced over her crumpled form: bruises covered her arms from fingers to shoulder. Her dress was very much worse for wear, with many small tears ripping at the hem and sides. And to top it all off, her breathing sounded forced and labored.

He almost couldn't believe what he was seeing.

"Lapis... what happened to you?" Not bothering to wait for an answer, the child crouched next to her and gently placed his hand on her shoulder. She swatted it away.

"Steven, I told you, go away! Leave me alone!"

* * *

Lapis's mind ran a mile a minute.

Why? Why did Steven have to come back AGAIN? She was certain she had gotten the message across after what happened last time, but he just _had_ to return and try to "help," whatever that meant. How was she supposed to keep Jasper down if she couldn't focus?

 _"It just doesn't make sense..."_ she thought. _"Can't he see I'm trying to help him? Why does he insist on stopping me?"_

"Lapis..."

She almost didn't hear him whisper her name; her mind was too far away to pay much attention. But if he was still here and trying to talk to her, then she knew he wasn't going anywhere.

And there was no point in fighting it. Not yet, at least.

Lapis quickly tugged at the chains yet again, to ensure they were still holding Jasper. They seemed just a bit more loose than from a few moments before, but still holding firm enough for her liking. Releasing a gentle sigh to the waters below, she slowly turned around to face him.

"... What do you want, Steven?"

"What do I want? I want you to be safe! Why are you still fused with Jasper? You know—"

"I'm doing this to protect you! And I'm not letting her go!" snapped Lapis. "I told you, I don't need your help!"

"YES YOU DO!" Steven pressed his palms against the surface of the water and shot to his feet. "When's the last time you've seen yourself, Lapis? I'm not going to sugar coat it for you... you look terrible. And it's because of this _fusion!"_

Lapis said nothing, but her eyes carefully watched his each and every move. He chose to continue.

"Lapis, you and Jasper hate each other. Fusion is meant to be a bond of trust... but what you have here isn't trust. Why do you do this to yourself?"

"I told you, Steven, it's to protect you." Lapis absentmindedly fiddled with the end of her dress, and her eyes suddenly avoided contact with his. "If Jasper breaks free, then she'll hunt you down. Is that what you want?"

"I know that! Jasper's dangerous, I get it. But even if she is... you don't have to put yourself _through_ this! Not for me..." As his voice trailed off, Steven walked next to Lapis and took a seat, and put his hand on her shoulder once again. She didn't shy away this time.

"Lapis, listen to me. I know you don't want to break the fusion, but I promise I can help you. If you just tell me where Malachite is, I'll wake up and come get you, right now. You don't have to do this anymore..."

* * *

The gears in Lapis' mind began to turn.

She knew that everything Steven had said about Malachite was correct. There was no trust or friendship in their fusion. All it was was malice and hatred, fueled by a burning desire for revenge. From both of them. A lethal mix.

And all of it was hell. Holding Jasper down. Keeping herself above the water. Above the _fusion realm..._ she had been down there before, once. Never again.

But now there was a way out. To be free again, to break the chains of her own creation. The thought alone was tantalizing her, to the point of her mouth falling open ever so slightly, and her vocal chords warming up to answer yes. Steven's eyes grew wide.

Lapis' mouth closed. There was still a catch.

Deep down, Lapis knew that her determination was more than just holding down Jasper. Her memory still hadn't dulled about the Crystal Gems: she knew they were a rogue organization, and a dangerous one to boot. Traitors to Homeworld, and their own kind. Sure, her own relationship with Homeworld was a bit on the rocks, but she wasn't anything like _them_.

And she had to admit it was a little personal, too.

No matter what Steven would try to say to change her mind, the years spent trapped in the mirror were unforgivable. Centuries of being devoid of a physical form, stuck with no method of expression? Like she didn't have a mind of her own?

It all added up clean. As far as she was concerned, the Crystal Gems were untrustworthy. Evil, even. What sense did it make to give up and go from one enemy to the next? It didn't.

But still...

* * *

_"Yes, Steven a Crystal Gem, but he's different!"_ thought Lapis. _"He didn't put me in the mirror, he FREED me! I can't trust the others, but... can't I trust him?"_

Lapis glanced up from the water. She couldn't help but feel a twinge of hope that he'd be gone, but he still sat just like before. His hands were neatly folded in his lap, and his eyes were frozen on her. She knew he was waiting for her answer.

_"I have to decide... Jasper or the Crystal Gems?"_

Lapis gently sighed, and fiddled with the ends of her dress again. She kept her attention to the floor, and purposely blotted Steven out of the corners of her eyes. She ran through it all again.

Almost ten minutes passed. And then, at long, long last, she slowly nodded her head.

"... Fine. But you have to promise me something."

"What?"

Lapis looked Steven in the eye. She could visibly see him tense up.

"No matter what happens next, I want you to keep the Crystal Gems away from me. I don't trust them, and you know that."

"B-but why?" questioned Steven. "Why can't you... you know what? I think we all have a big misunderstanding on our hands. They don't know you like I do! Once they see you for who you really are—"

"They don't need to 'see me' for 'who I am,' Steven!" snapped Lapis. "I can trust you... but not them. Once you free me, I'm leaving."

"Leaving? Where?"

"I'm not sure..." sighed Lapis. "I'll figure it out later."

Much to her surprise, Steven curtly nodded without another question. Lapis did the same, and she almost had to force a smile away from the appreciation she felt for his willingness to drop the subject. But she knew he was still waiting for what he came here for, and there was no more stalling.

"Will you keep the promise, Steven?"

Steven closed his eyes and frowned. He wasn't happy about it, but if it meant convincing her of splitting apart Malachite, it was worth it. "Yes... I'll make sure they don't bother you."

Lapis paused for a moment. She allowed herself to collect her thoughts, and her gaze fell into the dark. "To the best of my memory, Malachite is near—"

* * *

Jasper pulled at the chain. There was no resistance.

Why?

Whenever she started to get close to the top of the water, the chain was always what bogged her down. The little brat always held it firm, and she never budged. Hopeless wasn't quite the right word for it, but... it was hopeless.

But this time it was different. The chain was loose.

Jasper's eyes bulged open wide. She didn't know what was going on up there, but whatever it was, it had Lapis distracted. She wasn't holding the chains! She had no idea why, but whatever the reason, she simply wasn't paying attention.

A sinister grin spread across the Homeworld gem's face. Now was the time to take over.

Her adrenaline rush increasing tenfold, Jasper furiously kicked her arms and legs, and shot up through the waters as fast as she could manage. She was already well past the stopping point from her last breakout attempt, the spot where Lapis held her down; the only other time she could remember swimming up for this long was the last time she broke free.

The neon green light began to poke through the surface. She could see the top. Just a little bit closer...

* * *

"LAPIS!"

Steven yelled her name again, his face planted to the the water as if it were solid. It didn't work.

She didn't come back.

 _"W-w-why did she just SINK? Is it Jasper dragging her down? But I thought she had her under control! And why'd it have to be NOW?!"_ Steven slammed his fist against the surface, and then he tightly shut his eyes. _"Still, at least she was able to tell me where she is... now I have to—"_

A loud splash of water echoed throughout the room. Steven's train of thought came to a crashing halt as he whipped around on the spot.

His eyes bulged.

* * *

Jasper took a deep breath. _"I..."_

An open toothed smile spread across her face. She had to admit it felt nice, being out of the water. She'd had enough of it for a while. The dry air was more... liberating. Everything about it.

Even if it wouldn't stay that way for long.

Jasper knew Lapis was firmly in control, even now. She was the one who created the chains, and she was in control of the ocean around Malachite. Jasper had no hope of fighting it for very long; these precious few moments above the water was all she was going to get, another little victory to add to the books.

Might as well enjoy it.

After her eyes adjusted to the light above (even the low lighting was dazzling to her), Jasper quickly glanced around the room. It was exactly the same as she remembered it being; nothing on the immediate horizon, nothing up above, and certainly nothing down below. Just a big, empty chamber.

And then her eyes came to rest on him.

* * *

"J-J-Jasper..."

Steven's voice died in his throat. His breathing turned slow and heavy, and his feet rooted in place.

_"W-why? What's she doing here? Why isn't Lapis back? This is just like last time..."_

Just like last time. Even though it was months ago, he could still remember it well: Lapis being dragged under the sea, Jasper taking control, her quiet gasps the word 'you,' like she knew nothing else...

And it was happening again.

As he shook himself out of his thoughts, Steven's eyes shot open wide; Jasper was crawling toward him. Her eyes were firmly fixated on his, and it sent a shiver down his spine. This time, she was completely silent.

But her body language gave away her intent. Her fists were closed.

Steven scrambled to his feet. And then, without so much as a second thought, he turned his back to her and ran the other way.

It was a sad mistake.

* * *

"YOU'RE NOT GETTING AWAY!"

With reflexes ever so quick, Jasper jumped to her feet. She sprinted forward to catch up to him, and her legs quickly built up speed as her arms swung from side to side. And then, just before he could escape into the darkness surrounding the room, she leaped.

It was barely enough. Her fingers clasped around his ankle.

* * *

"NO!"

Steven could form no other thought, and yell no other word. He furiously thrashed in Jasper's grip, desperately squirming for freedom.

"You..."

"LET GO OF ME! LET GO! LET—"

"YOU DID THIS! YOU DID THIS TO ME, ROSE!"

Jasper's eyes were cold, and her tone dead serious. Recognizing the situation, Steven once again reached out to the water and kicked his feet, and tried to crawl away. Jasper responded by dragging him close and seizing the collar of his shirt, and she held him high above the ground. A wide smile creaked across her face.

"Rose... you're the reason I had to fuse in the first place. And now you're going down with me."

Steven opened his mouth to scream. But he never got the chance.

The chain on Jasper's arm jerked back. With no resistance from her, they both thrown to the ground, but they didn't stay that way for long; almost at once, the two began to skid along the ground, and their target was the spot where Jasper first came up. Steven knew that once they reached that point, just a little further back, they'd be yanked below the surface. To the fusion realm.

But he had one more card to play.

Steven closed his eyes. He ceased his thrashing and squirming, and he allowed himself to be dragged along. He felt them dive under the surface, and into the abyssal depths below _._ And yet he stayed completely still.

 _"Wake up..."_ he thought. _"Wake up. Wake up. Wake up..."_

A low rumbling noise ripped throughout the water. He felt Jasper's hold on shirt collar disappear, and then his ankle. And then, even through his closed eyes, he saw a bright flash tear through the murky water. Brighter and brighter it grew, poking through his eyelids and blinding his sight.

He prayed it was his greatest wish.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Normal text is in the present, while _"dialogue in italics"_ represents thoughts.

"AAAAAAAAGGGGHH!"

Steven jumped up from his mattress, and he tumbled to the ground as his feet gave way. He tore the sheets from his sweat drenched body, and then shut his eyes and moved his arms to cover his head. He silently hoped to protect himself from Jasper's powerful fists; he knew summoning his shield or bubble was futile at such close range.

Nothing happened.

Slowly, agonizingly, the seconds ticked by. Unable to keep his curiosity in check, Steven's right eye creaked open. The first sight he came upon was what seemed to be a floor; he wasn't falling through the water like he last remembered. He lifted his right hand from his head and brought it to the ground, and gently rubbed it against the surface.

It was dry.

_"Wait a second..."_

Steven fully opened his eyes, and he glanced around the room. His eyes came to rest on the painting of his mother, hanging above the front door downstairs. The front door of the beach house.

He wasn't in the fusion realm anymore. He was home.

Steven gasped a sigh of relief. He swallowed his throat and relaxed his muscles; he could feel his heart pounding in his chest, and his head wasn't far behind. He propped himself against the side of his bed for a moment to recover.

To make absolutely sure he wasn't imagining, Steven looked around again, but this time expanding downstairs; everything in the house was exactly as he remembered it. It wasn't some crazy illusion or trick.

Steven sighed.

_"Jeez, that dream was something... Garnet was right, all that stuff about Mala-"_

Steven's thought crashed to a stop. His eyes opened wide.

"Wait a second... dream... Malachite...!"

_"Oh no... no no no no NO! That wasn't just a dream, that was another vision! Is Lapis all right?!"_

Steven swallowed the lump in his throat. He knew he had jogged his memory, and everything he saw came rushing back: Lapis, Jasper, the fusion realm, all the things he saw and heard... including Malachite's location. The last of what Lapis had told him.

Steven jumped to his feet. His neck craned to look downstairs, and at the temple door. He turned his feet and readied to move, but stopped just short of lifting his legs.

_"Hold on... wait. I told Lapis I'd keep the Crystal Gems away from her..."_

Steven looked at the temple door again. The stone faintly glowed in the reflection of the warp pad, and he could see the tiny, circular gems embedded in the center star. Pearl. Amethyst. Ruby and Sapphire. Peridot. His own.

Steven sighed and took a breath. He walked to the edge of his bed and sat down.

_"I... I can't bring them with me, after the way she acted. It's too risky. But..."_

Steven knew he had a serious dilemma on his hands. If he brought the Crystal Gems, then Lapis might not want to split Malachite; she was already on the fence as is, and he didn't need to risk upsetting her further. But if he _didn't_ bring them, and things were to get dicey...

Steven rubbed his hand through his hair. He needed some time to think about this.

* * *

"Come on, what's the worst that can happen? Aside from saying no..."

Steven paced from his television set to the foot of his bed yet again. He kept his eyes planted to the ground as he weaved and bobbed across scattered items of junk. It had been nearly ten minutes since he last stubbed his toe, the longest interval since he began.

_"Once I explain everything to her, I'm sure she'll understand... I hope. Will she?"_

Steven's nervous eyes settled on his nightstand. His cell phone still lay on the table.

Steven took a breath. His left foot slowly lifted off the ground and inched forward in the air, ever so slightly. Every muscle in his leg urged him to bring it down, to take the very first step to where his mind screamed for him to go.

He lowered it back.

_"Why? Why am I such a coward?"_ he thought. _"She's my best friend, she won't hang up on me! Besides, she was there when we went to talk to Lapis... and she's braver than anyone I know. She can help me free her..."_

Steven looked at the table. His heart pounded in his chest again.

* * *

The low rumbling of a vibrating phone echoed throughout the room. It continued uninterrupted for one ring. Two. And then, before it had the chance to go for a third, a hand reached over and picked it up, and fumbled for the 'answer call' button. She pressed it and held the device to her ear.

"Ugh... hello?"

"Connie, it's me. I need to talk to you."

"Steven? Do you have any idea what time it is?" Connie sat up in her bed and glanced at her digital clock: 1:02 AM. "What on Earth do you need?"

"Wait, it's past ONE? Jeez, I didn't even look... okay, I know it's probably a bad time, but—"

"Yes, Steven, I'd say calling two minutes after one in the _morning_ is a bad time!" Connie ran a hand through her tangled, messy bedhead. She plopped back down into her pillows and rolled to her side. "What do you need so badly?"

He didn't answer right away. Connie tapped her finger against her pillowcase.

"... Connie, please, this is important. Just hear me out."

She couldn't help but sigh. "With what? Why can't this wait until later?"

"I'll explain as I go along," said Steven. "Do you remember what I told you about Malachite? That day I said I didn't want to be friends with you?"

"Malachite? Yeah... isn't she the fusion at the bottom of the ocean? The one with Lapis and Jasper?"

"That's right," replied Steven, "and that means you know how we've been looking for her for forever. And now we found her... actually, scratch that. Only I did. But _I_ know where she is."

"You do? Well, that's good to hear..." mumbled Connie. She moved the phone from her ear and stifled a yawn before putting it back up. "But I still don't get why you're calling me. Shouldn't you guys go and rescue her?"

"It's not that easy. I've been thinking about it, and... I just can't do it with the others. They can't know about this."

"Why not? Steven, it isn't like you to keep secrets from them."

"I know, but just—" Connie heard him groan on the other end. "Look. Don't you remember how we all got in a big fight, when Lapis sucked up the ocean? I was able to talk her out of that when I healed her gem, but she still doesn't trust the Crystal Gems. If I bring them with me, she might do something dangerous, maybe even as Malachite! I'm not even sure she trusts _me_ anymore..."

Connie's mind kicked into overdrive. He did bring up a good point about their battle for the ocean; Lapis _definitely_ had malicious feelings towards the Crystal Gems, and as far as she knew, the past few months gave her no reason to change. Maybe having the gems around to rescue her really wasn't such a good idea, like Steven said. Would she even accept their help in the first place?

_"But something doesn't add up..."_ thought Connie. _"If he's not going to bring the Crystal Gems, then why—"_

Her thought died on arrival. She knew exactly where he was going with this.

"Steven... is this because you want me to come with you?"

* * *

Steven shut his eyes. A small frown spread across his lips.

"... How did you know?"

"You wouldn't have called me otherwise. And since you aren't going with the Crystal Gems, well..."

Steven scratched the back of his neck and nodded, even though she wasn't there to see it. He plopped down on the edge of his bed, leaned forward, and locked his eyes with the ground. He hesitated for a moment.

"... Connie, I understand if you don't want to do this. To be completely honest, I have no idea what's going to happen once we get there. I'm hoping we can kind of just talk to her and have her unfuse peacefully, but..." Steven gently sighed and let himself slouch. He waved his feet through the air, and his heels clacked with each other. "I wouldn't count on it. If you don't want to come, that's fine. It's your choice."

* * *

Connie lowered her phone and gently set it on her nightstand, face up. She signed and rested her chin in her cupped hands.

She knew she had become stronger since the day the ocean was sucked up. Her sword fighting lessons with Pearl were more than enough proof. She had even gone on a few missions with Steven and the others, and she'dhad many practice sessions with him. They had perfected their sword-and-shield strategy, and they made a very formidable team. Offense and defense.

But from what Steven told her, it seemed Malachite was far worse than _anything_ they'd ever fought before. Even the Crystal Gems were scared of her, or at the very least wary. And now, in the middle of the night (or technically morning), she and Steven were supposed to run off and fight her?

And for what?

She had to know. Connie reached over and picked up her phone.

"Steven, why are you doing this?"

* * *

Steven closed his eyes and fell back into his bed. His left arm loosely fell to his side as he sank further and further into the mattress, the covers sucking him in their embrace.

It really wasn't that hard of a hard question. He already knew.

"Connie, I'm doing this for Lapis. She's my friend."

"Yes, but think about this for a second. You're going to rush in blindly, and, if she won't listen to you, fight the most powerful gem you've ever faced without the rest of the team! You could get really hurt, or even... is Lapis really worth all that to you?"

"YES, CONNIE, SHE IS!"

Steven didn't mean to shout, but it came out anyways. His head whipped to the temple door as the words left his throat; he was relieved to see it wasn't opening. Nevertheless, he shot up from his bed and ran down his bedroom stairs, and he then yanked the front door open and stepped outside. He suppressed a shiver as the cold nighttime air hit him.

"Connie, I freed her from the mirror, and I healed her gem!" continued Steven. "You don't know her like I do... and I've seen what she's going through, even as we speak."

"You've seen what she's going through?" asked Connie. "What do you—"

"In a dream. Actually, more like a vision," interrupted Steven. "I still don't know exactly how it works, but every now and then, our minds connect, and I can talk to her. It hasn't happened in a while, but... it happened tonight. That's how I found out where she is. I even got to see what being a part of Malachite is like."

"... And?"

The memories came rushing back to him. Steven suppressed another shiver.

"Connie, it's awful... she's bound in this dark room by chains, and she's always fighting to keep Jasper trapped. If she lets go for even a second, then she loses control of the fusion. She's suffering so much... and that's _all she's done,_ ever since I've known her! I have to help!"

* * *

Connie's eyes grew wide.

She had no doubt Steven was telling the truth. He wouldn't be shouting in the phone at one in the morning if he was lying. And of course, this meant that everything he described, from his conversation with Lapis to existing as Malachite, was the truth.

And then there were the risks. She could still remember what he told her about Malachite that day on the beach: Malachite was unbelievably powerful. She had complete control of the entire ocean, like Lapis, _and_ the brute strength of Jasper.

But still he wanted to confront her. And it was all to save his friend.

_"Steven..."_ she thought. A small smile curled her lips. _"You really do have a heart of gold..."_

"Steven, I—"

"Connie, it's fine. I'll just go by myself. Don't worry about me."

"No, wait, stop!" she interjected. "That's not what I'm going to say. I want to come with you."

Save for what sounded like wind hitting the microphone, the phone line fell silent. Connie's smile grew wider, and she let her mind race with possibilities of what was going through his own. _"I'd say he seems surprised..."_

* * *

Steven's lips went dry. He walked over to the little plastic chair near the end of the porch and took a seat.

"... Really? You're not joking?"

"Of course not," replied Connie. "Why would you even think that?"

"I-it's just, um..." stammered Steven, his mind fumbling to finish his thought. When he spoke again, his voice barely rippled above a whisper. "You were on the fence a minute ago. Why'd you change?"

"Steven, I don't really know Lapis all that well, like you said. But I can see that you really trust her... and if you do, then I will too."

Steven found nothing to say. He ran a hand through his hair and gently leaned back in the plastic chair. And then he heard Connie giggle on the other end, gentle yet clear. "And besides," she said, "what are friends for?"

Steven's mind fell blank. And then, before he even knew it himself, his face cracked open into an ear to ear smile.

"Connie... thanks. Thank you so much..."

* * *

"Connie... thanks. Thank you so much..."

"It's no problem, Steven. You know I just want to help." The young girl's face fell solemn as the words left her lips, however. She swung her legs the edge of her bed and turned on her nightstand's lamp. "But you know if we're going to do this, we need to have a plan. When are we leaving?"

"We're leaving now," replied Steven. "If we're lucky, we might get this done before sunrise. Can you be ready to go in ten minutes?"

"You got it," replied Connie. She hopped down from her bed and walked over to her dresser. She held her phone against her ear with her shoulder, and she used both hands to pull open the bottom drawer: her training outfit beckoned. "I'll be good in five."

"Great. I'll explain the plan once I get there."

Connie grunted in acknowledgement. Moving the phone from her shoulder to her hand, her thumb hovered just above the End Call button when she heard his voice one last time. "Oh, Connie?"

"Yeah?"

"Bring my mom's sword. Just in case."

* * *

Connie's finger ran across the brilliant pink scabbard of Rose Quartz's sword. Quietly sighing to herself, she tore her eyes away and quickly looked side-to-side down the street. He still hadn't arrived.

"Ugh... where is he?" Connie mumbled to herself. She then took her phone from her pocket and pressed the home button: the clock read 1:49 AM. _"Jeez, if he wants to get this done before sunrise, he better get—"_

Connie's thought was interrupted by a bright white flash, tearing through the night sky and brightening the dark. She had to shield her eyes at first, but the brightness quickly faded and encapsulated itself in a ball. It hovered in the air for just a moment, and then shifted itself into a bright white ring and settled above her driveway. And then, not even a moment later, Lion hopped out of the ring, and Steven was sitting on his back.

As the big cat screeched to a halt, Connie's eyes scanned over her best friend: he was still wearing his usual t-shirt and jeans, completed by his sandals. His cheeseburger backpack was slung around his shoulder, and a few loose pieces of paper stuck up from the open pockets.

"Steven, what took you so long? It's been more than half an hour. Didn't you read the texts I sent you?" said Connie as she walked up to him. Steven turned to face her and smiled.

"Oh yeah, sorry about that... I turned off my phone and hid it. I felt bringing it with me would be unnecessary, and Peridot would probably use something to track me with it."

"Yeah, yeah..." Connie looked over his shoulder, and at his overstuffed backpack. "What's in the bag?"

"This? Oh, just some extra supplies. Food, water, and a lot of maps. Mostly of the oceans."

"Oh... yeah, that makes sense. Good idea." Connie walked back to her porch and picked up Rose's sword. She held it by the handle and balanced it on her shoulder, and then made her way back to Lion and Steven. "I brought your mom's sword, like you asked."

"Good," nodded Steven. "I don't want us to have to use it, but if it comes to that..."

"Don't worry, Steven, we'll be fine. Now, what's this big plan you said you had for us?"

"Oh, that's right! Here, let me show you." Steven took off his cheeseburger backpack and set it on the ground. He pulled out a map from the largest pouch and unfolded it, and he gently tugged at the paper to remove the wrinkles.

"Okay, you see this little island right here?" he said as he pointed to a tiny dot in the far right corner. Connie squinted to see it in the dark.

"Yeah, you already told me about an island in the _only_ text message you replied to. Is that where she is?"

"Yeah. Well... actually, I think she's _near_ it, not necessarily on it. They might still be underwater."

"Underwater?" Connie tapped her finger against her leg. "If they're not on land, then how are we going to reach them?"

"It'll be tricky, but I think we can make it work. Remember the time I formed the bubble by accident, and we went down into that ocean trench?"

"Of course I remember that! That's when we became friends," smiled Connie. "But do you really think that's going to work? She might be able to smash the bubble, or suck up the ocean around us."

"Yeah, that might be a bit of a problem... but I think we can figure that part out when we get there. For now, let's get to the important stuff: what we're actually going to do once we talk to her.

"Connie, Garnet told me about what Malachite feels like to Lapis and Jasper, and she knows about fusion better than anyone. And what they have right now is an awful, terrible place to be. She's like a time bomb, waiting to go off at any time. And that's why I'm not bringing the Crystal Gems."

"I still don't really understand that," said Connie. "If she's dangerous, isn't that the reason _why_ they should be coming along?"

"Normally yes, but this time's different," replied Steven. "Lapis doesn't trust them. I think we might be able to _persuade_ Malachite to unfuse if it's just the two of us, but having the others there might make her want to stay together and fight. I know it seems kind of flip-flopped, but trust me: we'll be better off on our own. And... well, there's also the promise."

"Promise? What promise?"

Steven looked Connie in the eyes. "I made a promise to Lapis that the Crystal Gems, once we free her, wouldn't bother her. And I want to keep it."

Connie curtly nodded, and effectively dropped the subject. Nevertheless, her hand anxiously fiddled with the handle of Rose's sword, and her foot absentmindedly tapped the ground; she still wasn't entirely convinced Steven's plan was really the right thing to do.

"Okay, to keep it simple: we go in, we talk to Malachite, and she unfuses. Problem solved," recapped Steven. He rolled up the map and stuck it back in his cheeseburger backpack, before hoisting it up and slinging it on his shoulders. "It'll probably be a little more complicated than that, but we'll figure it out. You ready to go?"

"Wait, hold on! It feels like we're missing something..." said Connie. "If we can get Malachite to unfuse, what are we going to do about Lapis and Jasper separately?"

"Huh? Oh yeah, that's a good point..." Steven mumbled. "I don't think we really need to worry about Lapis, but I'm not sure what we'll do about Jasper. We'll figure it out."

Though part of her wanted to refute his plan, Connie couldn't help but grin. Even if she had her doubts, she had to admit Steven's unusual aura of confidence was rather infectious.

"Okay, you ready now?" he asked, interrupting her thoughts. Her small grin evolved into a wide smile.

"You bet. Let's do this."

Steven walked over to Lion and gave him a pat on the side. The big cat let out a low growl, and squatted low to the ground and straightened his back. Connie and Steven took the initiative and hopped on.

"Okay Lion, you know the drill," said Steven. "Take us to the island I told you about. Whenever you're ready."

Lion needed no further encouragement. With a great spring in his step, he jumped to his feet, and his legs kicked into action. Pebbles from the street kicked up every which way, and gentle clouds of dust emerged from behind as he started to run, his paws coordinating with each other to pick up speed. To the two on his back, the wind whipped in their faces, and the houses blurred together in white and gray globs.

After a few seconds at a steady pace, Lion opened his maw wide and let loose a terrific roar. A portal sprang free and opened just down the road, exactly like the one from when they first arrived. Through the wormhole, Connie and Steven could see the sand of a beach, and the choppy waters of the ocean.

And without missing a step, Lion jumped up and pushed them all through.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Normal text is in the present, while _"dialogue in italics"_ represents thoughts.

"We're here."

As he spoke, Steven wiped his forehead with his shirt. Beads of sweat trickled down from his forehead and stung his wide open eyes. He had anticipated the island being warmer than Beach City, but not quite so humid.

 _"I only brought a few water bottles..."_ thought Steven. His hand absentmindedly reached behind his back and patted down his cheeseburger backpack; he could only feel one or two bumps. _"I hope we're not here too long, or we might get dehydrated."_

"Steven? Come on, shake a leg! Let's go!"

Steven shook his head to dispel his thoughts. Heeding his best friend's call, he hopped down from Lion's back. "You stay here, Lion, we'll be back soon," he yelled as he jogged to Connie.

"Sorry," panted Steven as he caught up at last. He hunched over to catch his breath; the temperature was making it harder than usual. "I was just thinking."

"Thinking?" she asked. "About what?"

"About how we need Malachite, and fast. She could be anywhere around here."

Connie quickly glanced around the island, her gaze scanning for what would be, according to Steven, a giant greenish monster with bright white hair. She didn't notice her when they first arrived, but it never hurt to be too careful...

But what she saw instead made her eyes pop open wide.

Just ahead of the beach, a dense foliage of tangled trees and low hanging branches extended deep into the center of the island, and the heart of the forest was darkened by the night sky. Just beyond that, an enormous cliffside, hundreds of feet tall, rose high the stars. A brilliant blue and seafoam green waterfall crashed with a roar. And of course, the brilliant yellow sands of the island's beaches edges mingled with the calming ocean waves, creating a rather peaceful lull.

The full moon was a nice finishing touch.

"Steven..." whispered Connie. Her eyes grazed over each and every detail she could discern, sucking it all in to commit to memory. "This... this is beautiful..."

Steven's mouth fell wide open.

"Oh my goodness... wait a second, this is Mask Island!"

"Mask Island?"

"Yeah, it's an island we visited on a mission once." Steven looked around the area with renewed interest. His jogged memory flashed back to that day for comparison; everything stacked up as he remembered it. "You know, there's also a warp pad here... Lapis must not have known when she told me about this place."

"Wait, so we could've just warped here the whole time?"

"Yeah. We didn't really need to bring Lion... I'll say sorry to him later." Steven turned to look behind him; the big cat was curled up under a particularly tall tree, his eyes shut and his chest breathing in and out. Steven smiled at the sight.

"... Anyway, it _is_ nice, but there's no time for admiring," he continued. "Malachite might be nearby, let's get moving."

True to his word, Steven began to walk along the beach to the east, his footsteps all but silent in the soft sands and occasional pebbles. Connie reluctantly tore her eyes from the island's mountain and followed close behind.

For the next few minutes, neither child bothered to converse. They kept their eyes peeled for anything from land or water, or for perhaps something that may give a clue to Malachite. They just had to find it.

But it wasn't their eyes that picked it up. It was their ears.

A loud snapping sound echoed throughout the beach, its uniqueness poignant against the usual waves and wind. Steven and Connie whirled around on the spot, but found nothing but trees and darkness.

"What on Earth... you just heard that, right?" asked Steven.

"Yeah, it sounded like a branch snapping. Was it Lion?"

"No, I told him to wait by that tree..."

Connie and Steven swapped glances. And then, with no words needed, she proceeded to draw her sword, and him his shield. With unspoken synchronization, they slowly approached the pitch-black foliage.

"Do you think it's her?" Connie hurriedly whispered. She glimpsed Steven shake his head out of the corner of her eye.

"No, she's way bigger than these trees. If it was her, we'd have seen her."

"But then what is it? It might be a wild animal, or maybe—"

She never had time to finish. And the thing jumping out from the trees was the reason why.

* * *

"AGH!"

Out of instinct, Steven took several steps back. He raised his shield to cover himself, and he kept his eyes pasted to the creature. He strained to identify it through the distorted pink glare.

_"Wh-what is that thing? It's only a little taller than I am, and it's standing on two feet. And it's green..."_

Steven's eyes grew wide. Green.

"CONNIE, STOP!"

He hadn't even been looking at her when he issued his command, but he was glad he did; true to his gut, she had already jumped to the side of the strange little man. Her sword was raised high above her head, poised to strike.

Steven lowered his shield. The creature was curled in a ball and shaking, and its little arms were tightly clutching its head. Now that he could see it clearly, he knew exactly what it was.

"Watermelon Steven?"

* * *

Connie turned her head to Steven. She squinted her eyebrows.

_"Watermelon Steven? What's that supposed to mean? And why is he—"_

Before she could finish her thought, the green creature perked its head up and whipped around to face Steven. Was Steven just addressing this little human-like... gem monster? Plant-thing?

"Steven, what's going on?"

The young boy said nothing. He and 'Watermelon Steven,' as he apparently called it, were locked in what seemed to be a rather tight staring contest.

And then he blinked.

"It is... it _is_ you!"

Much to Connie's surprise, an ear-to-ear grin split across Steven's face as he dissipated his shield. And what she now knew with certainty to be Watermelon Steven jumped to its feet as well, and he frantically waved both its stubby arms. Steven quickly ran over to him and knelt down, coming eye-to-eye with it.

"My goodness, I haven't seen you guys since you left Beach City! Is this where you settled?" he said. Watermelon Steven nodded, earning another smile from the young gem. "Well, it seems you're doing all right. But let me ask you this: since the day you left, have you learned to understand true loyalty?"

Watermelon Steven rubbed the back of his head and bowed. Connie couldn't take any more.

"STEVEN! What the _heck_ is going on here?! What _is_ this thing?"

"Oh, uh, heh heh..." Now it was Steven's turn to rub the back of his head. "You weren't there that day, so you wouldn't know..."

"What day?"

"It was about a year ago, maybe less." Steven stood up and walked the extra few steps to Connie. He then plopped down on a largish rock, and she quickly followed suit. "I was eating watermelon with my dad one evening, and when I woke up the next day... they kind of came alive. And started attacking people."

"... Really? Huh... how come I never heard about this?" she asked. Steven could only chuckle.

"I'm not too sure. But in any event, I convinced them to stop fighting after they killed Baby Melon, and then they all walked into the ocean to find a home of their own. I guess they picked this island."

Watermelon Steven vigorously nodded and waved his arms, earning the attention of both Connie and Steven. The young gem slightly cocked his head at the sight that met his eyes; he was holding a stick. "Uh, mini me? What are you doing with that?"

Watermelon Steven walked to the edge of the beach, and stopped along a soft patch of sand. He plunged the sharpened branch into the sand and began to move his arms. Steven and Connie stood up and walked over to him, and peered over his shoulder.

_Yes, we've certainly learned the values of life, and we all deeply apologize._

Steven's eyes filled with stars.

"What the... Watermelon Steven, you can _write_?!" exclaimed Steven. The green creature nodded once again. He picked up his writing stick and quickly scribbled several more words.

_Indeed. We're also learning speech, though others are better than me._

"W-well that's great! It looks like you're becoming a real community!" Steven grinned and gave Watermelon Steven a pat on the head. "I'm really proud of you. You've come a long way from the days you tried burying Amethyst alive."

Connie nervously chucked at what she assumed (and hoped) to be dry humor. But the feeling quickly gave way to an overwhelming sense of worry, and her eyes frantically flickered around the jungle and night skies.

"Steven, I think we're getting off track," she said, after a moment. "We still need to find Malachite, remember?"

"Oh, that's right! Watermelon Steven, it's great to reconnect, but we'll have to talk later." Steven squatted low, plucked the writing stick from the ground, and handed it to Watermelon Steven. "We're here for something important. This is going to sound goofy, but have you guys seen a giant green monster with four legs and white hair?"

Watermelon Steven paused for a moment. And then, with slow, almost choppy movements, he gently ran the branch across the sand.

 _We've seen her many times, and she's very unusual. At least twice a day, she'll surface from the water over there._ Watermelon Steven lifted his writing stick and pointed to the west side of the island. _She's well aware we're here. She always seems like she's about to attack, but then she throws herself back into the water before she gets the chance. It's like she's fighting herself._

Connie and Steven glanced at each other. _"That sounds like Lapis and Jasper, all right..."_ he thought.

_Why do you ask?_

Steven eyes flickered to the sand and Watermelon Steven again. "Because we're here to stop her. Where _exactly_ is she?"

Watermelon Steven closed his eyes and nodded. And then, as if he had just woken up from a deep sleep, he wrote one final message in the sand.

_Come. I'll show you._

* * *

"Ugh... Steven, will you hand me one of the water bottles?"

Steven reached behind him and took his backpack off his shoulders. After unzipping the tomato pouch, he quickly rifled through the mess of contents before his hand closed around the plastic bottle. He lifted it out of the bag and handed it to Connie.

"Here. Be sure to save it, though, we only have one apiece." Connie nodded and carefully unscrewed the cap, and then took a very small sip.

"Thanks. You told me it'd be hot, but not _humid_ like this," she said as she lowered the water bottle from her mouth. She took a breath and put the cap back on. "I hope we're not here for much longer."

"So do I. We can't speed this up much until we get there, though... are we there yet?"

Watermelon Steven, who had walked far ahead, shook his head. Steven and Connie groaned.

"I guess we have some time to kill..." said Connie. "Steven, I get you want to try talking to Malachite, but you really need to think about this for a second. What are you going to say to her that she'll _actually_ listen to?"

Steven put a hand to his chin and softened his gaze ahead. "Well... it'll be tricky, but I'm hoping to reason with the Lapis side of Malachite. And since Lapis is usually in control, that's how we'll get her to split apart."

"But what if it's Jasper?"

"Then we'll have to fight." Steven tore his eyes away from the beach and back to Connie. "But Connie, I promise it won't get that far. She's going to unfuse whether she wants to or not, and that's final."

Connie mouth fell slightly agape. And then, without a shred of doubt, a smile took its place.

"You're right, Steven. We can do this."

Steven gave her a nod, and then turned his attention back to his front. Realizing their little chat had gotten him off track, his eyes quickly scanned over the surroundings; the forest was now well behind them, with the beaches and ocean taking its place. They were miles from where they had started.

"Hey, W Steven?" called Steven, using the nickname he had bestowed his counterpart. "Are we-"

Watermelon Steven stopped cold. He buried his writing stick into the sand, and Steven had a feeling his question was about to be answered.

_Yes, Steven, we're here._ _The creature you refer to as 'Malachite' always surfaces on this beach. If you wish to talk to her, you'd be wise to wait it out._

Steven read over the words inscribed on the beach, a smile spreading across his face the further along he went. "Great! It won't be long now." Steven looked at Watermelon Steven and locked eye contact. "W Steven, I'm hoping we don't have to fight, but we don't know for sure. Are you going to stay?"

Watermelon Steven picked up his branch again. _I'm not among the ranks of the warriors, so I'm afraid I won't be of much assistance from here on out. Will you be needing back-up?_

"No. We'll be okay."

_Then I shall warn the others to stay off the beaches. Good luck, Steven and friend._

Watermelon Steven yanked his writing stick from the ground, and held it in his hands like a spear. He charged head-first deep into the darkness of the forest, and kept running head on until he was completely out of sight. Connie looked at Steven.

"... I still can't believe I just met a living watermelon."

"I know, isn't it great? And after what happened last time... oh, they've come so far..." Steven stared off into the distance with stars in his eyes. His hands locked together with pride, and Connie suppressed a chuckle.

"Well, I'm glad to see your message seemed to reach them, but we have to focus. He said to wait here for Malachite."

"That's right," nodded Steven. "She could come anytime, so we have to be ready."

Even as he spoke, however, Steven had to stifle a creeping yawn. This didn't go unnoticed by Connie, and she shook her head.

"Steven, both of us haven't gotten a lot of sleep tonight. Why don't we take turns looking out, and we'll switch every hour?"

Steven sat on the sand and propped himself up on his elbows. "You do have a good point with the sleep. Do you mind?"

"Not at all. I'll take the first watch."

Steven didn't need any more encouragement. He fell to his side and curled up into a ball, and tightly shut his eyes. He did his best to ignore the beach's humidity, but it was a definite challenge. "Remember to wake me up in an hour..." he quietly mumbled.

"I will, Steven."

* * *

Connie's eyes danced across the gently rippling water, for what felt to her like the millionth time. Still no Malachite.

"She'll be here soon..."

Connie couldn't help but release a sigh as she fell back into the sand. She spread her arms out wide; her sword sat just a little ways away, and Steven a few feet beyond that. Her gaze hovered over them both, and then turned to her pocket.

 _"This'll be the third switch now..."_ thought Connie as she took out her cell phone. Her thumb pressed the power button, and the screen flickered on; it was indeed 5:04 AM, exactly sixty minutes from the start of her shift.

Connie stood up and slowly made her way to Steven. She knelt down next to him and shook his shoulders, and then waited for him to stir. "Come on, Steven, it's your turn..."

"Ugh... is she here?" he said, after a moment's quiet. Connie shook her head.

"I'm afraid not... it's time to switch."

Steven rubbed his eyes and shook his head, doing his best to force the drowsiness away. "Yeah, yeah... just give me a second."

Steven crawled to his nearby cheeseburger backpack. He opened the zipper and rummaged his hand around, and pulled out a half full water bottle. He quickly unscrewed the cap and took a drink. "You know, if she doesn't come up soon, I'm thinking we should call Lion and come back with more supplies," he said as he put the bottle back in his backpack. "It'd make the wait a lot easier."

"I'd like to do that too, but I don't think we should leave," replied Connie. "If she comes up when we're gone, then we'll have missed our opportunity."

"Just an idea... get some sleep. I'll hold down the fort."

Connie folded her hands and rolled on her side, facing away from him. Steven sighed and glanced over the sky; the moon was still visible, though it was definitely lower than last time.

Steven stood up and started to pace. He lifted his arms high and stretched, and smiled to himself as he felt back pop. " _You know, I almost wish I could go for a walk..."_ he thought. He around on the spot, and allowed his eyes to trail over the jungle, and the waterfall careening over the canyon side. _"Connie's right, it really is beautiful... I wonder-"_

SPLASH!

* * *

SPLASH!

Connie's eyes split open wide.

In one swift motion, she jumped to her feet and lunged to her sword. She picked it up from the ground and ripped off the scabbard, exposing the brilliant blade to the glare of the moonlight. "STEVEN!" she yelled out to wherever he was; she didn't dare tear her eyes from the water.

"CONNIE! WHAT WAS THAT NOISE?! I WASN'T LOOKING!"

"YOU WEREN'T LOOKING? WHY WEREN'T... FORGET IT, JUST GET OVER HERE!"

He didn't need much encouragement. With tight, bated breath, the young gem sprinted to her side. He formed his shield at arrival, and his right arm took hold. "It sounded like the water! Is it her?"

"I don't know! Just... be quiet. Listen."

They both fell deathly silent. Steven's heart pounded in his chest: he would never admit it out loud, but he half expected Malachite's hand to tear out from the water and sweep them both away.

The beach stayed quiet.

"... False alarm?"

Connie said nothing. Instead, she turned her eyes from the water and to the beach; everything still seemed the same.

"... False alarm."

Steven gasped a sigh of relief and dissipated his shield. He then lifted the collar of his shirt and wiped his forehead; it came back drenched. "Jeez, that was something... to be honest, it's kind of a shame she isn't actually here."

"Don't let your guard down, Steven."

* * *

Malachite slammed her fists against the ocean floor.

"STOP FIGHTING IT! JUST LET ME TAKE OVER, AND IT'LL BE EASIER FOR US BOTH!"

"NO! HE'S NOT HERE YET!"

"JUST GIVE IT TO ME!"

Malachite couldn't take any more. An angry roar broke free from the prison of her throat, and she jumped up from the ocean floor. Her two halves continued to fight for control of her mind, and her body.

And then she broke through.

* * *

It was like a geyser, breaking through the peaceful ocean. Destroying the calm. Shattering the illusion of serenity.

But they were ready.

A booming crash echoed throughout the sky as the water exploded into the sky, soaring high to the stars. Steven summoned his shield again, and Connie drew her sword. Both took several steps back as Malachite tumbled out of the water, wildly swinging her fists at nothing in the air. She took a step onto the sand, and collapsed to her side.

"WHAT ON EARTH?!" yelled Connie. "STEVEN, _THAT'S_ MALACHITE?!"

"YEAH! NOW'S OUR CHANCE, COME ON!"

Steven sprinted head first down the beach, with Connie closely in tow. He came skidding to a stop well beyond the reach of her feet and arms.

"MALACHITE! STOP!"

Malachite's fist froze in the air, and her screams and wails tapered on the spot. She craned her neck to catch a glimpse of him; it was only her top two eyes that moved. Her gaze softened

"... Steven? Is that you?"

"Yes, it's me... I'm here to help you."

Steven's breathing slowed and dragged. He knew Malachite had very little control of her actions; inside her mind, she was a struggling mass of two conflicting storms, Lapis vs. Jasper. A never ending war.

He shuddered at the thought.

"STEVEN!" yelled Malachite, snapping him out of his thoughts. "I... I CAN'T unfuse! Why didn't you-YOU'RE DAMN RIGHT WE'RE NOT!"

Malachite's pupils dilated. Her eyes sharpened and creased together, and her glare directed itself at Steven.

Malachite stood up. She turned around and raised her arm: a great pillar of water rose from the sea, and molded itself into a fist. "DIE!"

Steven grabbed Connie's shoulder and brought her close. His gem glowed with a brilliant pink light, and the beautiful shape of a rose sprang up around the two, encasing them in his bubble shield. The pillar of water water crashed against the shield, and sent the two flying back: they skidded to a halt about fifty yards away, shaken but unharmed.

"Steven, she's not listening to us!" shouted Connie! "What do we do?"

"No, just wait! Lapis is fighting for control, see?"

Steven lowered his shield, and Connie got a good look at Malachite. She was screaming to the sand, her head in her hands and her feet stomping madly. Steven jumped to his feet and ran to her again.

"MALACHITE! YOU DON'T HAVE TO SUFFER ANY LONGER! JUST SPLIT APART!"

Even through her face hidden in her hands, Malachite looked at him form the corners of her eyes. And then, without warning, she slammed her fist down in front of the child, kicking sand all around. Steven covered his eyes and nose.

"LET ME TAKE OVER! NOW!"

"NEVER! I WON'T LET YOU HURT HIM!"

* * *

Connie ran up behind Steven and tapped him on the shoulder. "What?" he said through his teeth.

"Steven, what's going on? She _really_ doesn't look like she's about to unfuse..."

"I don't know what she's going to do! We might have to-"

"THAT'S ENOUGH! ENOUGH!"

Both Steven and Connie's attention whipped back to Malachite. She was along the edge of the beach, and her four feet were planted in the shallow water.

Malachite raised her arm. The water behind her pooled and rose to the sky, and shapeshifted into another fist. Steven summoned his bubble shield around himself and Connie again.

Rather than swinging the fist toward the beach like last time, however, Malachite summoned a _second_ one, identical in size and shape to the first. She then turned her back to the water and lifted her arms. Even through the pink, distorted tint of his bubble, Steven swore he could see a smile crack across her mouth.

And then the fists grabbed her arms.

They didn't stay in that shape for long. Malachite's own creations quickly morphed into chains, and they clamped around her wrists and held her tight. She was bound to the ocean...

 _"What on Earth? What's going on?"_ Steven lowered the bubble and stepped out to the shore, Connie right by his side. She held her sword pointed out like a javelin. "Malachite?" he asked. "What are you-"

"QUIET, STEVEN! I NEED TO CONCENTRATE!"

Steven shut his mouth.

With all the strength she could muster, Malachite pulled at both chains simultaneously. Her arms crossed as she continued to strain against the ocean, harder and harder. A vein popped in her forehead and she ground her teeth together, and tears of pain streamed out of her eyes.

"NO! STOP! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!"

"IT'S OVER, JASPER! I'M IN CONTROL, AND I'M ENDING THIS NOW!"

Steven and Connie watched the back and forth exchange with a shared sense of horror; they didn't even dare to blink, for fear of missing the critical moment. What was she even planning?

"BUT... YOU CAN'T! YOU _NEED_ ME, TO GET RID OF THEM!"

"I DON'T CARE! YOU'RE NOT GOING TO HURT HIM!"

Malachite buckled to her knees. Her wild, frazzled hair obscured her face as she lowered her head, only for her to whip it back and let loose a terrifying roar. She pulled at the chains yet again.

It was only when she threw her head back that Steven saw it.

"Oh..."

"What? Steven, what is it?"

"Look... look at her gem!" Steven pointed to the spot, with Connie squinting her eyes to see it. "It has a crack! See?"

Connie's hand shot to her mouth. Her eyes stuck to the imperfection like glue. "Y-you're right! But I thought a gem cracking was really bad..."

"It is!" Steven shook his head and closed his fist around the hem of his shirt. He heaved a deep breath and used his free arm to wipe away fast forming sweat on his forehead. "It happened to Amethyst once, and she almost died! We have to stop her!" Steven's foot shot forward, but he froze at the feel of Connie's hand on his shoulder.

"Steven, I don't think that's a good idea..."

"WHY NOT? She might get really hurt! We have to save her!"

"I know that, but just THINK for a second!" Connie ran a hand through her hair, swiping away a few loose locks over her eyes. "If she wasn't able to unfuse before, then for all we know, what she's doing now might be the only way! Just let her keep going!"

"That's ridiculous! There HAS to be another way! We just-"

"It's too late..."

* * *

"It's too late..."

Steven's eyes grew wide. Without a sound, he slowly turned back to face Malachite. He felt himself tremble with fear.

The crack on Malachite's gem had expanded, running almost completely up the surface. Tiny grains from the rock fell from the tip like rain drops, gently mixing with the ocean water. And still it continued to grow.

"STOP!" yelled Malachite. Steven knew it was Jasper. "THINK ABOUT WHAT YOU'RE-"

"SHUT UP! IF IT WEREN'T FOR YOU, I WOULDN'T BE ON THIS PLANET AT ALL!"

Malachite tugged at the chain and kept up the pressure, and her cracked gem shot open even more. Just a little further...

"BUT WITHOUT ME, YOU'LL BE STUCK HERE _FOREVER!_ YOU CAN'T FIGHT THEM ON YOUR OWN!"

"IF I'M TRAPPED, THEN SO ARE YOU! THAT'S A FAIR TRADE, DON'T YOU THINK?!"

Malachite smiled. "And besides, if we're both stuck here, then you're still _my_ prisoner _..."_

She tugged again. The crack finally burst.

Malachite let forth a blood curdling roar. She arched her back high, and continued to scream to the starry sky above. Her water chains dissipated and fell back to the ocean beneath her feet, and the shattered shards of her gem slid off her face.

And then the light began. A brilliant white flash, rising up from her eyes, then her mouth, and finally poking out from her stomach, arms, and legs. Her voice went mute.

"CONNIE, GET DOWN!" screamed Steven. He wasted no time in doing so himself, and he covered the back of his neck with his hands. He silently prayed she did the same behind him, but he couldn't risk opening his eyes to look.

Even with his eyes closed, however, he could still see the flash. It became brighter, brighter, brighter... the boom, the inevitable explosion was coming any second. The young child used his arms to cover his ears as best he could.

And then, just like that, it was gone.

* * *

_"We're dead, we're dead, we're dead, we're dead..."_

Steven waited for the end. The searing pain, the explosion all around, whatever was coming next. Any second now...

Right?

The seconds ticked by. Steven slowly lifted his head; he blinked his eyes open just a tiny sliver at a time. He stole a glance up ahead.

Malachite was gone.

_"H-hey... did she just... poof? But her gem was destroyed! Unless that means-_

Steven's eyes bulged open wide. He jumped to his feet and quickly set to brushing the sand off his clothes. When he finished, he turned on his heel and ran across the beach, finally stopping where Malachite had been just a moment ago. His ears perked up at Connie's footsteps behind him, but he didn't care. He sank to his knees, reached into the damp sand, and closed his hand into a fist.

He slowly raised his hand, and spread his fingers like the blooming petals of a flower. In his palm, he held two stones: one blue, and one orange.

And both cracked. 


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I apologize for missing the Thursday deadline. Here's the new chapter.
> 
> (By the way, since I've now broken it, I'm switching the schedule to posting a new chapter whenever it's finished, rather than every Thursday.)

"Steven? Are you... all right?"

Steven said nothing. He didn't even turn to face her.

Slowly but surely, the young child turned the two gems in his hand around, over and over again. Their surfaces shone brilliantly in the moonlight, casting off bright glints for his eyes to catch. Even so, Jasper's felt very rough in his palm; her gem had deep gashes running from end to end, and right down the middle. Lapis was fortunate in comparison; hers only had a small crack along the edge, far smaller than the last time. _"Nothing mom's fountain can't heal..."_

Steven's eyes fell shut. He gently sighed as he took Jasper's gem and carefully moved it to his left palm. He then lifted his hand and formed a pink bubble, encasing the cracked stone firmly inside. He held it up for the briefest moment, as if allowing Connie to sneak a look.

And then he squeezed his fingers, the bubble dissipating in an instant. Connie blinked in confusion.

"Uh... Steven? Why did you just put Jasper's—"

"I just bubbled her, Connie," he interrupted, "and now she's at the temple."

"The temple? But how? And what's the point of 'bubbling her?'"

Steven sighed and stood up from the water. His feet slowly paced to his friend, stomping in the sand and leaving gentle, soon to be washed away footprints. "Bubbling her means she can't regenerate. Not unless the bubble is popped." For comparison, Steven lifted his empty hand and summoned another pink sphere, holding it out for her to see. "And unless one of us wants it to, it's not _going_ to pop. Ever."

Connie's face contorted into shock. Her lips went dry and her mouth hung open. "Wait... let me get this straight. You mean she's—" Steven cut her off by nodding his head. Her eyes grew wide as dinner plates, and her hands absentmindedly fiddled with the hem of her outfit.

"B-but why? This seems... I mean, don't you guys have _something_ else you can do? This is a horrible punishment!"

"No it's not! She'll be fine inside her gem... even if it's cracked."

Now it was Connie's turn to shake her head, a small frown spreading across her lips. "Steven, I'm not a gem, and I'm not going to pretend like I understand what it means to be one. But from where I'm standing right now, I think what you're doing is wrong. I mean, even if it _is_ 'fine' in her gem, you're trapping her in there _forever_!"

"Connie, it's..." Steven sighed again, this time in exasperation. "Look. If the Crystal Gems were here, they'd do the exact same thing. I guess I'll talk it over with them later, but bubbling her is the right thing to do for now. Besides, even having her gem around isn't a good idea right now."

"Why? What do you mean by that?"

"Watch."

Steven squatted low to the ground and gently set down Lapis' gem, on the soft patch of damp sand. He then took several steps back.

The gem rose from the ground and hovered in place, a few feet from the ground. The navy blue swapped to a far brighter palette as the stone began to light, its illumination increasing in intensity by the second. Even so, both children could faintly discern—through tight squints and cupped hands over their eyes—the formation of shapes; first a leg, then two, then arms and a head...

And then, just as soon as it began, the light broke away.

Steven's eyes lit up in anticipation as Lapis tumbled to the sand, landing flat on her stomach. Without wasting even a second, he ran forward and came skidding to a halt just next to her. He gently placed his hand on her back, careful to avoid her damaged gem.

"Lapis! Can you hear me?"

Lapis said nothing at first, her face pressed into her arms and obscured. And then, a few moments later, a light groan escaped her lips as she forced herself to sit up. Her hands and arms alike wobbled from strain and fatigue.

"... Steven?"

* * *

"You ready?"

"Just give me a second."

Garnet squatted on one knee and held her arm straight out, her fingers pointing as far as she could manage. The gem on her hand then proceeded to glow a brilliant red, followed by the formation of her star gauntlet. She still didn't bother to move, though; all three eyes scrunched in concentration as she held steady. _"Wait for the cue..."_ she thought.

"... Okay, go."

The gauntlet shot off her arm like a rocket. The projectile whistled through the air with an angry ring as it flew straight to the wall of the bubble room. It exploded to pieces as it collided with the hard stone of the chamber, sending a thick, billowing cloud of dust up to the roof. Garnet smiled and stood up straight.

"Well, how was that?" she asked as she turned to her guest. The other occupant quickly glanced over her data, before pressing a combination of buttons on a dust-sodden screen.

"1.4 seconds. That's your best time yet."

Garnet's smile stayed frozen at this news. "Excellent. I've been wanting to get under 1.5 for a while now." She lazily cocked her gaze to the wall she had shot her gauntlet; there wasn't so much as a scratch anywhere. "I think we can call it a night. Thank you, Peridot."

"You're most welcome." Peridot powered down the cell phone and hopped off the little stool, near the corner. She briskly made her way to Garnet, a gentle cough escaping her throat from the dust of so many training shots. "I'm perfectly willing to help, even if I have to use Steven's primitive Earth technology."

"Hey, you know we tried to find your limb enhancers," chuckled Garnet. She smacked Peridot on the back as gently as she could, yet still earning a small wheeze of pain as her reward. "We just didn't find them."

"It's fine," gasped Peridot. She took a deep breath and collected herself. "I don't really need them. Earth technology is surprisingly adaptable, like this little portable timer. It's very handy."

"Yes, yes it is..." Garnet's eyes trickled to the fire pit in the center of the room. A few loose ashes leaped out every now and then, with a lazy trail of smoke rising above the boiling magma. "Steven often helps me by filming my training on his phone, so I can look it over later and find out what I'm doing wrong. Though there was that one time I had to burn it."

"Burn it? Why?"

"Well, I had a gem artifact. A document, and one that we had to destroy; it was too dangerous to even so much as stash away. But then he went and took a picture of it with his phone. I didn't know you could delete a picture at the time, so I took it from him..." Garnet had to stifle a bout of laughter, a feeling magnified when she saw her friend had to do the same. "I convinced Greg to buy him a new phone later."

"Greg? Why not you?"

"Does it look like we use money?"

Peridot rolled her eyes and shook her head, her smile still fixed firmly in place. "I guess I should've realized that by now. My mistake."

Garnet said nothing as her eyes traced up the sea of gem bubbles above; her gaze jumped from gem to gem, one after the other. "But in all seriousness, thank you for your help tonight, Peridot. I know it's on such short notice after a mission, but I felt the need to-"

Garnet's voice tapered off. And it wasn't because of Peridot.

Up near the very top of the mass of gems, a single pink bubble popped in out of nowhere. It wasted no time in blending, floating over near the middle of the sea of bubbles and quickly settling in. If she hadn't been looking up when it first happened, Garnet might have missed it entirely.

"... Um, Garnet? Are you okay?"

"Peridot, did you see that?" The green gem squinted her eyes and held her hands above her visor, straining to catch a glimpse at where she assumed Garnet was doing the same.

"See what? Something with the bubbles?"

"Yes... a new one just came in. It stopped somewhere in the middle, and I didn't get a good look at it."

"A new bubble? Odd..." Peridot scratched the back of her head as she spoke. She put her other hand to her chin and glanced up at the ceiling again. "Could it be Pearl, on a solo mission? Or maybe even Amethyst?"

"No, they would tell me if they were going somewhere... let me grab it."

Garnet ran over to the wall where she had practiced shooting her gauntlets. Without missing a beat, she leaped up and landed both feet on an extruding pipe, before taking another jump into the air. With extra care to avoid touching any of the other bubbles, her hands lightly grasped the new one as she flew across it. She then landed on the other side of the room with the gem tucked safely under her arm.

Peridot shook her head in amazement.

Garnet walked over to her friend. She hadn't even bothered to have looked at the bubble. "Let's end this mystery once and for all."

Garnet took the bubble and held it up. She could just barely make out the shape against the orange magma stream on the floor.

* * *

Steven's bright, starry eyes shone as brightly as ever. His mouth fell into a smile. "Hi, Lapis..."

Both gems eyes stayed firmly locked on each other, as if waiting for one to make a move. And then, like he was taking a cue, Steven stepped forward and wrapped his arms around Lapis' neck, resting his head on her shoulder as he pulled his friend into a hug. He closed his eyes and tightened his grip on her, as if she would disappear if he let go. And after what happened last time... well, he wasn't about to assume anything.

Lapis sat still for a moment, her arms glued to her sides. And then, with a gentle sigh, she lifted her hands and gently returned the embrace. "Hello, Steven..." she whispered into his ear.

Finally, after what felt like (to Steven, at least) an eternity, Lapis straightened her arms and gently pushed him away. Steven took a step back and held out his arm, despite being significantly shorter, to help her to her feet. She accepted his offer.

"... Thank you, Steven."

Steven brightly beamed. "No prob, Bo-sorry. Lapis."

Steven burst out into laughter at his own joke. Lapis allowed a small smile to crack across her face, but she didn't laugh with him. It wasn't nearly as amusing.

Finally, after a few moments, Steven took a deep breath and re-composed himself. He anxiously scratched the back of his head and made eye contact with Lapis once more; she still stared down at him with that same blank expression. He could tell she wasn't about to start a conversation by herself.

"So... Lapis, are you okay? After all that—"

"I'm fine, Steven." She spoke above a whisper for the first time, and her voice was rather hoarse. Steven chalked it up to her damaged gem. "You don't need to worry about me."

"Oh yes I do," smiled Steven. "I mean, with your gem being cracked..."

Lapis' eyes shot open wide. Without another word to Steven, she held her arms out to her sides and closed her eyes. Her gem glowed for a brief moment, the faintest outline of her water wings sprouting from the surface.

It didn't last long. Almost as soon as it began, the process collapsed as the light from her gem died out, and with it her wings. Lapis grunted through clenched teeth and tumbled to her knees, burying her hands in the sand and forming tight fists. Steven ran to her side and put his hand on her back.

"Lapis, stop! Don't hurt yourself!"

"Steven, I... I told you, I'm fine! Don't _worry_ about it!"

"But your gem is cracked!" Steven looked over her gem once again. Much to his horror, the crack had grown slightly since when he held it, most definitely from her failed wing summoning. "We need to get you healed up."

"Then use your healing powers, like the last time." Lapis turned her back to him and gestured to her gem with her thumb. "Steven?"

"I can't..." Steven's voice barely rippled above a mumble. He stepped away and shook his head.

"You... you can't?" Lapis asked. "Why not?"

Steven held up his palms and glanced down, dodging eye contact. "I don't know what happened, but I just... my healing powers don't work anymore. They haven't for a while now. I've been trying to get them back, but—"

"So I can't be healed." Lapis' voice was dead serious, her expression perfectly stoic to match. Steven had to suppress a shiver.

"No, no! You can, don't worry! There's another place we can go to, and it does the same thing I did. We can still heal you."

Lapis breathed a sigh of relief. She turned her gaze to the ocean waters ahead, and watched the waves dance along the shoreline for a brief moment. "... All right. Thanks, I guess."

"Yeah yeah..."

Sensing the increasing awkwardness of their conversation, Steven turned his back to Lapis and waved his arm, signaling to Connie down the beach. She took the initiative and jumped to her feet, before jogging to the two. "What? What do you need?" she asked.

"We're going to my mom's fountain to heal Lapis. You ready to go?"

"Yeah. But what's your mom's fountain?"

"Oh yeah, I guess you haven't been there with me before..." said Steven. He put a hand to his chin and racked his memory. "My mom's fountain is this big garden, and the fountain part flows with her tears. They work the same way my spit used to."

"Ah. Are we going to take Lion again?"

"You bet. We can't just _leave_ him here, you know," chuckled Steven, earning a few giggles from Connie as well. Lapis said nothing. "But I think we have to walk back to where we left him... he was sleeping last time we saw him. He won't hear me whistle."

Connie's laughter died on the spot.

* * *

Pearl leaped high into the air. With an elegant twirl, she maneuvered her way from one water spout to the next, landing on her feet a little ways away with perfect precision. Not even bothering to wait for her toes to land on the ground, however, she then took to jabbing her spear at an imaginary target, over and over again. Her attention was so completely focused, she utterly failed to hear the sound of the door.

"PEARL!"

"AGH!"

Pearl's spear flew out of her hand in a surprise reaction, landing at the feet of Garnet. The fused gem picked it up, and it dissipated a moment later. "Pearl," she repeated, "I'm sorry to interrupt your training, but come with me. It's important."

"Important?" she asked as she jumped down from the water spout, again landing without a hitch. "What's going on?"

"I'll explain when we have the team assembled. Peridot's getting Amethyst now."

Pearl nodded her head. Garnet turned around and focused on the temple door, her two gems glowing in anticipation; the door cracked wide open, revealing the interior of the Burning Room. "They should be here any second," she said as the two walked into the room, the door slamming shut behind them.

"What about Steven? Shouldn't someone wake him up?" asked Pearl.

"No! At least, not yet. We should get everything straightened out ourselves before we have him involved."

Pearl sighed and slowly nodded her head; though she may not have necessarily agreed with the decision, it wasn't hers to make. Deciding to kill the time, she quickly glanced around the bubbles floating near the ceiling above; if what they were going to discuss had something to do with this room, nothing _seemed_ outwardly, at a glance. What was the purpose of having the meeting here?

Pearl's thoughts were interrupted by the sound of the temple door swinging open again. She craned her neck to catch a glimpse, revealing Peridot and a sleepy looking Amethyst walking in. She was about to find out.

Garnet waited for the three to stand in a group, near the fire pit. Once she was satisfied with their organization, she then walked to the side of the room and held up her hand. A single gem bubble floated down and gently landed in her grip, which she then carefully grabbed with the other arm. She purposefully obscured it in her arms as she walked back to the group, hiding its contents.

"Pearl, Amethyst... take a look at this."

Garnet came to a halt and held up the bubble. Pearl and Amethyst squinted in the orange light of the room, straining to get a good look. But they didn't have to for long.

Amethyst gulped. A lump formed in Pearl's throat.

"Garnet... is that—"

"It is. Jasper."

All four gems fell silent. Garnet stood still as a statue, waiting for the others to make their move; Pearl and Amethyst made no attempt to ease her anticipation. Peridot nervously fidgeted with her fingers, dodging eye contact with the others. Garnet noticed her stress behind the cover of her silver shades, but decided not to say anything about it.

"Before I go on," she said, ending the silence at last, "I want you two to realize it wasn't me who did this. Peridot can confirm, can't you?"

"Wha?! Oh... yeah." Peridot took a deep breath and collected her thoughts. The gaze of all three gems fell to her anyways, however; her previous stumble did not go unnoticed. "It floated in the room while we were training. It definitely wasn't us."

"But if it wasn't either of you that did it, then _who?"_ asked Amethyst. "Pearl?"

"No, it wasn't me. I was training in my room, by myself."

"And you guys know I never go on solo missions, so it _definitely_ wasn't me." Amethyst put her hands in her pocket and focused her attention to the ground.

"But who else is capable of making gem bubbles? And sending them to the temple?" asked Pearl. She placed her hand on her chin and collected her own thoughts. "... What about Steven?"

"Pearl, please be serious," said Garnet. "Steven's asleep right now."

The blue and white gem glumly nodded at what she already knew to be the truth; it was a wild, fantastic idea, but one she knew to be untrue. The other three gems then fell quiet, giving Garnet another opportunity to take charge of the meeting.

"Gems, I think we should worry about who it was that bubbled Jasper and sent her to us later. For now, we need to focus on the immediate problem."

"Immediate problem?" asked Amethyst. "What problem? I mean... think about this for a second. If Jasper's bubbled, then doesn't that mean Malachite's gone?" Her eyes grew wider and wider the further along her thought ran. "We don't have to look for her any more! Isn't this a good thing?"

"You're mostly correct, Amethyst," nodded Garnet, "but you seem to be forgetting: Malachite was a fusion. Fusions consist of two gems, not one. And we only received one bubble."

The three gems hastily glanced at each other, while Garnet grimly lowered her head and took off her sunglasses. Pearl coughed.

"You're talking about Lapis, aren't you."

"... Yes. I am." Garnet turned her attention from the floor and back to the three, her exposed eyes darting from gem to gem. "And that's why I told you not to wake Steven. We need to discuss what we're going to do about her."

Amethyst cleared her throat and raised her hand, as if their meeting was a lesson in a classroom. Garnet nodded in her direction.

"If she's able to, won't she just go back to Homeworld like last time? Who's to say she's even still here?"

"That's a possibility, but I don't think that's what she's going to do," replied Garnet. "The last time she went home, she was forced to come back here, and she definitely wasn't happy about it. If she had a do-over, I don't think she'd be quite as enthusiastic to go back."

"Then what do we do about her?"

Garnet stood perfectly still for a brief moment; the other three gems could tell she was deep in thought. The others didn't dare interject with their own opinions, at least not yet. The leader went first.

"... I think we should bubble her. She's too unpredictable."

Amethyst curtly nodded. Pearl as well.

Peridot remained still.

"... I agree," said Pearl at last, breaking the silence. "I wish it didn't have to come to this, but we just don't know what she's planning next. It'd be best for all of us just to get her out of the way... again."

Now it was Garnet's turn to nod. "Indeed... but we're going to have to break this to Steven very carefully. He won't be too happy about this."

"Well, I guess there's no time to do it like the present. I'll go wake him up."

* * *

"Steven, how much longer?"

"I don't know, to be honest... twenty minutes, maybe?"

Connie rolled her eyes and heartily groaned, for what felt to her like the millionth time since their walk began. She then took the back of her hand and wiped her forehead, feeling it drench with a combination of humid moisture and sweat. "Hand me the towel again."

Steven reached over to his left and heeded his friend's request. He then turned his gaze to his other side and shifted his attention to Lapis. "How are you holding up?" he asked her.

"Fine."

Steven sighed. He stuck his hand in his pockets and allowed his feet to drag, and he shook his head no when Connie offered him the towel back. _"Still as stubborn as always..."_ he thought.

"Hey, Steven?"

"Hm?"

"Listen, I've been thinking... whatever we're going to do to heal Lapis at the fountain, shouldn't you guys eventually do it to Jasper, too? It seems kind of... unethical to just leave her gem cracked like that."

"Yeah, that's a good point... it'll be tricky to do it without having her regenerate, but we can probably find a way. I'll bring it up to the others later."

Lapis stopped walking.

Steven and Connie went a few steps further, both unaware their blue friend was no longer with them until he glanced to his right again. When he did, his feet tapered to a crawl, and he slowly turned around. "Uh... Lapis?"

Lapis stared ahead at him, a blank expression worn plain. He only just heard her voice, barely creaking above the wind and waves:

"Steven... Jasper's still _alive?_ "


	5. Chapter 5

Pearl stepped out of the temple door and onto the warp pad. Her footsteps echoed loudly across the crystalline surface, before she came to a halt and planted herself on the spot.

"Steven? It's time to wake up, it's important."

She received no reply, and heard no rustling of his bed or movement in his room. Figuring he was still asleep, Pearl continued into the foyer of the house, and to the foot of his stairs. "Steven?" she called again, louder this time. "Steven, wake up. We have a mission to do."

Again, nothing but an eerie silence.

With a gentle sigh, Pearl made her way up his stairs and into his room. As the top of his bed came into view, the first thing she noticed was a Steven-sized bump in the covers, his tuft of black hair jutting out from the top. _"Still as heavy a sleeper as always..."_ she thought, suppressing a chuckle. Nevertheless, she stepped over to his bedside and pulled his covers away. "Steven, it's—"

The words died on arrival. Her eyes shot open wide, and her grip on his blankets tightened tenfold. Every limb in her body froze with fear.

* * *

"GARNET! GARNET!"

The gem in question's attention snapped to the temple door, as did those of Amethyst and Peridot; Pearl stood leaned against the door frame, her hand tightly clutching it for support as she gasped for breath. Her other arm reached up and wiped away beads of sweat.

"Pearl?" Garnet walked to her teammate and put a hand on her shoulder. "Pearl, get a hold of yourself. What happened?"

"I-it's Steven. H-he's..."

"What?"

Pearl gulped. She closed her eyes. "He's gone..."

Almost at once, a deathly quiet breezed through the room, as if they all disappeared. Amethyst and Peridot quickly swapped glances; their eyes spelled the same feeling of terror, with both pairs open wide to the point of throbbing. Garnet said nothing as her hand fell back to her side.

"Pearl..." she mumbled at last. It felt to her like an eternity. "Please elaborate."

"I... I went to wake him up, like I said I would. But when I went up to his room, he had this bundle of pillows under his blanket, along with a wig... I don't know where he is."

"Bundle of pillows? And a wig?" piped in Amethyst. She made her way from the fire pit to the others, Peridot following close behind. "Sounds like he set this whole thing up. You know, so we wouldn't notice."

"Well, we did," said Peridot, "and now we need to find him. Pearl, do you have _any_ idea where he's gone to?"

"No... I didn't see any clues."

"Then I think we should all take a look. Come on." Garnet walked to the temple door and held up her hand; the star outline in the middle glowed for a brief moment before the slab swung open. She stepped out of the temple and into the living room, the other gems fast on her heels. "We'll have to check the house for clues. Search _everywhere,_ and take inventory of things you believe are missing. What we need to be asking ourselves is 'what did he take with him?'"

All three gems nodded in unison. They split up to search various parts of the house; Peridot took the bathroom and around the warp pad area, Amethyst the kitchen, and Pearl the living room. Garnet walked over to his stairs and quickly climbed up, to most assuredly tear his room apart piece by piece.

For the next few minutes, all the gems fell quiet; none could find it in them to make conversation, not during such a tense situation. Steven came first and foremost, and they weren't about to let themselves be distracted.

And their hard work paid off.

After a few minutes of searching, Pearl plopped down on the couch and reached over to the side, yanking open the cabinet connected to the wall. Her eyes jumped from shelf to shelf, searching for something, _anything_ different from what she remembered. Then she saw it.

"... Hey, come here! Look at this!"

Amethyst, Peridot, and Garnet dropped what they were doing (in Garnet's case, dropping the motor of his smashed television to the floor) and converged to Pearl. She pointed her finger to the low lying shelf and patiently waited for them to draw conclusions.

"Pearl, isn't that where we usually keep maps? Granted, we don't use them too often, but—"

"Yes, Peridot, you're correct. We've collected a lot of them over the years."

Garnet adjusted her shades and gazed deeply at the spot. "It stands to reason he took them, then... I'm not sure why he would need so many."

"I don't know either," sighed Pearl, "and to be honest, I'm not really sure what we can take from this. We still don't have a clue where he is."

"Then let's think about it for a second," said Peridot. "If he's bringing so many maps, then he probably doesn't have a good sense of where he's going. That's what a map is for, after all."

"Hey... wait a second, what about his phone?" Amethyst scratched the top of her head and sat down next to Pearl on the couch. "Those things can pretty much do anything, and it's a lot less to carry. Why wouldn't he just bring that instead?"

Peridot thought for a moment. And then she snapped her fingers.

"... He's too smart to not try that first. If he's not bringing his phone, then I almost want to believe it's because he couldn't find where he's going on it. Like it's somewhere human databases don't have logged."

"Because he couldn't find where he's going? What do you mean?" asked Pearl.

"Think about it. I know what I'm about to say is probably going to be ridiculous, but... what if it's like, I don't know, a desert or something? There probably wouldn't be very much about it on his phone, but he might have a little better luck with an older, more detailed map. I know, it's stupid, but..."

"Peridot, you bring up a good point," said Garnet, "but if he really left to go somewhere like this, then _where?_ "

"Like I said earlier, it's probably somewhere far. But I have no idea..."

* * *

"... Where am I?"

Jasper slowly forced herself into sitting up, her hands digging into the dirt to support herself. She wasn't quite sure why, where, or even how long she had been on the ground, but that's where she was. And how long had her eyes been closed, too?

Jasper groaned. As her neck and limbs sputtered into function, her eyes danced all around her; for miles and miles, the only thing she saw was an endless field; the lush green grass and bright, cloudy blue sky above painted the scene with a perfect compliment. What was strange, however, was just how _big_ it was-no structures, no imperfections in the ground, changes in the landscape-and how endless it seemed. Did this land run forever?

She had to know.

Jasper's arms and legs wobbled as she staggered to her feet. In the back of her head, a faint tingling muddled her efforts, but she pushed it away. She grabbed her knees to support herself and stood hunched over, gasping for a few deep breaths.

Her body caught up to her mind at last, and she stood up and surveyed the area; even with an increased field of vision, there was nothing on the horizon. _"We'll see about that,"_ she thought as she took her first step forward. Her foot seemed to hover in the air for the briefest moment, as if she had to force it down.

And she quickly learned why.

When Jasper tried to put any weight on her leg, to her horror, she instead completely lost her balance. She held her arms out in front of her as she fell, but it was too late to stop her fall. She tumbled to the ground with a dull thud.

"Agh! What the... why?!"

Jasper dug her fingers into the ground. Her arms trembled with resistance as she desperately heaved herself up from the ground. _"Come on, come on! Keep going! Keep—"_

Jasper couldn't keep going. And with a great failure of both arm and leg muscles, she fell once more.

For the next few minutes, the gem lay on her back in the same spot, panting and wheezing for every breath she could muster. Her arms were spread out side-to-side, while her feet were pressed flat against the ground, and her knees pointing to the sky. She couldn't even _dream_ of sitting upright, no matter how badly she wanted to.

 _"I... I don't understand..."_ she thought. Her mind was clouded by sheer exhaustion. _"Why can't I do anything? Is it my gem?"_

No sooner had the thought crossed her mind than her eyes grew wide. With a slow jerk of her shoulder, her right arm slowly came back to her side, and then up to her face. She tightly closed her eyes and prepared herself; if her gem really _was_ damaged, it was going to hurt. A lot.

Jasper's index finger grazed the surface of her gem. It wasn't smooth, like it should've been.

And then it set in.

"AAAAAAHHHHHH!"

* * *

Peridot stared down from Steven's room to the house below. None of the lamps were on, and the living room was almost completely dark. She sighed and gently shook her head.

Though she didn't want to admit it, she knew the search around the house was about to get a lot more lonely. Pearl, Garnet, and Amethyst decided to split up and use the warp pad to jump from place to place and search, and they weren't about to give up until they were certain he hadn't used one to get somewhere. And she knew how stubborn they could be.

_"But even if he DID use the warp pad, why'd he bring maps? Humans wouldn't map gem locations, they don't know where they are. Something just doesn't add up..."_

Peridot stood up from Steven's bed and walked to his nightstand. She absentmindedly pulled his drawer open and peeked inside; nothing of note, at a quick glance. She slammed it shut and groaned.

_"... Wait a second."_

Peridot ripped the drawer open again. She stuck her hand inside and rooted through the contents, silently hoping she saw correctly the first time.

Her hand grazed the surface of what she had hoped for, buried under a few pairs of socks. She gently grabbed it and lifted her hand out of the drawer.

"Steven's cell phone..."

_"His phone? Why did he even leave it here?_ _I guess he didn't need it for a map, like we thought... and that's a good thing."_

Peridot pressed the power button. The screen flickered on for a brief moment, and then a small loading bar appearing in the center as the device booted up. Peridot tensed with anticipation.

After a couple more seconds, the loading bar filled to the end, and gave way to his lock screen. Peridot swiped her finger to the right and opened his apps page; she knew from experience he didn't keep a passcode. She had grown very fond of a few of the little games he had on the device, and he was very generous with sharing. But there was no time for that now.

Peridot's eyes shot to the top corner of the first page; the Messaging program beckoned, and a little red bubble next to the picture showed at least forty five unread. And while she wasn't particularly proud of snooping on his privacy, she pressed the button and opened the app anyway. She had to be thorough in her search for information.

The app booted up, and redirected to the main page. Almost all of the unread messages were from Connie.

 _"Connie? Why would she need to send so many messages to him? They usually train or hang out almost every day. And it says the most recent one was... five and a half hours ago?"_ Peridot glanced at the clock at the top of his screen: it was only a few minutes past 6 AM. _"She needs to sleep, just like Steven. Why would she be awake so early?"_

Peridot opened the message. Rather than being just one, it was a long, cumbersome string, like she had been chatting with herself. Judging from the timestamp at the top, all had been sent within twenty five minutes.

Peridot slowly scrolled down the page, fervently reading each one: they mostly consisted of simple messages like 'where are you?' and 'get here soon.' From what she could see, Steven hadn't replied to any of them.

At least, until she reached the bottom.

_Should I bring anything warm, like a winter jacket? - Connie, 1:22 AM_

_No. We're going to an island in the ocean. It's going to be really hot. - Steven, 1:23 AM_

Peridot grinned. She had caught her lucky break.

* * *

Steven squinted at Lapis in confusion. He brought his hands together and fidgeted his fingers, dodging eye contact with her. "Alive? Well, yeah... but she's in her gem. I sent her back to the temple."

"The _temple?_ What, you mean your base?" Steven nodded in acknowledgement, only for his face to fall as a frown spread across her own.

For a brief moment, the beach fell deathly quiet, the sound of the ocean wind whistling through the jungle's trees the only respite. Both children waited anxiously.

They didn't have to for long. With a strange, almost guttural growl, Lapis stormed up to the two and knelt at eye level, before grabbing both of Steven's shoulders. She shook him like a rag doll.

"STEVEN! WHAT WERE YOU THINKING?!"

"AH, STOP! LAPIS, LET GO OF ME!"

Lapis stared deep into his eyes for a moment, tracing over every detail of his face; his eyes were wide and his mouth agape, and she could tell it was in fear. She sighed and lowered her arms. "Steven, bring her back. Now."

"I can't!" Steven rubbed his hand on his shoulder, lightly grimacing at the contact. "It's at the temple, and I can't get it unless we go there."

"But... aren't the others there? The Crystal Gems?" asked Lapis.

"Yes. Right now, she's in the temple. There's nothing I can do from here."

"Steven, the _whole point_ of what I did was to _shatter_ her gem! Why would you give her the chance to get away like that?!"

Steven's eyes blinked in surprise, and he quickly shook his head. "Shatter her? Why? We don't need to do that!"

"Yes we do! Or she'll regenerate and—"

"No, she won't. Right now, Jasper's in a gem bubble," interrupted Steven. "What that means is she's stuck in her gem, and she can't regenerate unless we want her to. She's trapped."

Lapis angrily shook her head, her frown spreading all the more across her face. "Steven, we shouldn't take any chances. If I were you, I'd shatter her and be done with it. She's too dangerous."

"Even if I wanted to, I _told_ you, it's out of my hands! That choice is for the Crystal Gems to make, and they aren't here right now... just like you wanted."

Lapis stayed silent, her breathing slow and heavy through her tightly closed mouth. And then, without another word, she stood up and stormed away from the two.

* * *

Pearl and Garnet stepped off the warp pad. They both wiped their sweat-soaked foreheads, and Garnet dissipated her gauntlets and took a deep breath. "No, he's definitely not in the desert again," she said.

"We have to try everywhere. Let's go to—"

"WAIT, STOP!"

Pearl and Garnet stopped cold. They both turned away from each other and to the living room, to be met by Peridot running up to them from the couch.

"Peridot?" asked Pearl. She knelt down and came eye-to-eye with the gem, as she in turn came to a halt. "What happened? Are you all right?"

"I'm fine. Look at this."

Peridot held up Steven's phone, the screen illuminated as brightly as possible. Pearl squinted at the small text, and she could vaguely sense Garnet doing the same. "All of these are from Connie. Peridot, why are you showing us these? And why do you even have his phone?"

"He tried to hide it in his nightstand. But forget about Connie, look at Steven's message!" She pointed to the only white bubble on the screen, surrounded by a sea of blue.

"'We're going to an island in the ocean. It's going to be really hot'..." read Garnet. Pearl turned around to face her.

"An island in the ocean? But... he couldn't possibly hope to reach an island if it doesn't have a warp pad. And the only place I can think of—"

"Mask Island."

Pearl nodded in agreement. With her mind already made up, she stood up and stepped on the warp pad, before looking at Peridot once more. "Peridot, Amethyst will be back soon. You two stay here, in case he returns for something."

Now it was Peridot's turn to nod. And with that, the warp pad's stream brightly lit up the room as it activated, its bright white beam shooting to the sky. The shadows of her teammates rose with it, higher and higher, until they were out of sight.

And then, just as soon as it began, the beam disappeared. Peridot's gaze shifted from the warp pad to the temple door.

She started to sweat.

* * *

"Lion! Come here!"

Lion, under the shade of a rather large palm tree, perked his ears up. One eye lazily opened, and honed in to the voice; Steven, Connie, and Lapis were walking to him from the beach. He closed it again.

"Lion, it's time to go!" yelled Steven. "Come on!"

Lion yawned. Nevertheless, he got to his feet and stretched his back, and then lowered it so the three could hop on. They all did so.

Steven glanced behind him at Lapis. Her attention was fixed straight ahead, away from him. He sighed, turned back around, and gave Lion a pat on the neck. "Okay Lion, we need to go to mom's fountain. Can you do that?"

Lion lurched forward and started to sprint. And just like how he did it in Connie's neighborhood, after a moment, he opened his mouth, fired the portal to the fountain, and hopped right through. The ring quickly faded in his wake.

* * *

Pearl and Garnet stepped out onto the beach and glanced around the island. From the moment they stepped off the warp pad, their faces were pelted by the humid ocean air, and the beach had a very sticky feel to it. Pearl tugged at the collar of her shirt.

"Okay, here we are. How are we going to do this?"

"This island's too big to search section by section," replied Garnet. "We're going to have to look from the sky."

Garnet's two gems began to glow. A bright light encompassed her complete form as she rose to the sky, her body growing larger by the second. Pearl's eyes stayed fixed to her teammate.

A few seconds later, the light faded away, and in its place was a shapeshifted Garnet: she had taken the form of a bird, her size big enough for several people to ride on her back. Pearl walked over and wrapped her arms around her neck.

Garnet flapped her wings, the gusts of wind spreading far and wide. And then, after hovering in place, she twirled and and took to the sky.


	6. Chapter 6

Peridot wiped her forehead again. She then picked up her visor and brought it back to her face, and then looked over the back of her hand; it was drenched it sweat. Just like last time she had wiped her face. And the time before that.

She hadn't looked at a clock in quite some time, but she had a vague idea of how long it had been since Pearl and Garnet left. An hour, maybe? Two? Somewhere along those lines. In the end, it wasn't really important. Two hours or not, Amethyst still wasn't back yet. And that meant she was still completely alone, with nobody to interrupt her thoughts.

And being alone gave her plenty of time to think.

The truth was, even Peridot didn't know what was spurring her decision. She still wasn't convinced it was a good idea. There was no possible way of predicting what would happen next; too many variables were out of her hands. Too many things could go wrong.

But even so, she knew she had to do it. For her _own_ sake.

There was no other choice.

* * *

When the intense light from the warp stream faded, Amethyst opened her eyes and looked around the living room. The sun was just starting to rise outside, and a few loose beams of light streamed through the windows. None of the lamps in the house were on, giving it a very deserted feel. But was it?

"Guys? Anyone home?"

"Hello, Amethyst."

Amethyst's head snapped to the kitchen counter. Peridot sat in one of the tall chairs, gently slouching against the back and staring up at the ceiling. Her hands were pressed flat against the counter.

"Um... hey, Peridot. Are you okay?"

"Hm? Oh, yeah. I'm fine." Peridot jumped down from the stool and walked to the warp pad. "Listen... Garnet and Pearl gave us a job to do."

"A job? Okay... what is it?"

"She said to, um... she said we have to start looking in our rooms."

"Our rooms?" asked Amethyst. "But why? What's the point?"

"So we can be absolutely certain he's not in any of them. Also to make sure he didn't leave behind any clues." At this, Peridot looked up from the ground and to her teammate at last. "Pearl and Garnet are already checking in theirs, and they said not to interrupt them."

"Really? Um... all right, then. I guess if that's what they think is best." Amethyst turned her back to Peridot and faced the temple door. Both the gem on her stomach and embedded in the door began to glow, and then it swung open. "Are you going to check yours? I know it's kind of new, but..." she trailed off.

"Yes, I will. And like Pearl and Garnet said, _please don't interrupt._ We'll meet back in the living room in a few hours."

Amethyst nodded. And with that, she stepped into her room and allowed the door to shut. Peridot gulped.

_"Here we go..."_

* * *

It took them a little while to find it.

With their two sets of eyes working as one, Garnet and Pearl combed the island for something, _anything_ that could serve as a clue. As far as they knew, maybe they'd get lucky and find him right then and there. Or, if they were _unlucky_ , maybe he'd already left, and with it the trail they had on him.

And that's when they looked at the beach.

"Hey... Garnet, look!" Pearl extended her arm to the beach, and Garnet's attention turned to match. "See those?"

"Yes... they almost look like—"

"Craters?"

"Exactly." Garnet looked up and down the long row, eyeing the beach for anything else unusual; several other craters indented the sand, and they were enormous. Whatever it was that made them, it couldn't have been natural.

And the strangest part was, they were shaped like hands.

Garnet lowered her neck and changed her angle of flight, bringing them low the ground. Just before she touched down, earl hopped off her back and planted her feet in the sand, and Garnet quickly did the same. She shapeshifted back to her normal form and rejoined her teammate.

"Pearl, take a look at these," said Garnet as she walked over to the crater in the sand. Pearl followed close behind. "Look at the shape of these craters. What do they look like to you?"

"Well..." Pearl put her hand to her chin, and she looked over the sand. "They look like handprints?"

"Just what I was thinking. Look, even the fingers are defined."

"Yes... you're right," nodded Pearl. "But why are these even here? Nothing that big could get by us, and we were just here a little while ago."

"I don't know. It might've been another corrupted gem, or—"

Garnet stopped cold. All three of her eyes snapped open wide behind her sunglasses, and every muscle in her body froze. She took a step away from the crater, and faced her back to her teammate.

"Um... Garnet? Are you okay?"

"It was him..." Garnet's voice barely rippled above a whisper. But she knew Pearl heard her, loud and clear.

"'It was him?' What are you talking about?"

Garnet said nothing. She lifted her hand and brought it to her shades, before gently taking them off and lowering them to her side. Her eyes focused ahead with a thousand-yard stare, and then deflected to the enormous sand craters.

"Pearl... these handprints are Malachite's. It's near water, and there isn't another species on Earth that could make these. And since we have Jasper's bubbled gem..."

Pearl pondered this information for a moment. And then, like she was on cue, she softly gasped, barely audible to Garnet. She brought her hand to her heart and tightly clutched her shirt.

"It _was_ Steven..."

* * *

"We're here. Everybody off."

Wasting no time in heeding his own command, Steven hopped off of Lion's back and stretched his arms to the sky. He felt a small crack in his back not long after, forcing him to wring a grin out into the open. _"Okay, let's get this done..."_ he thought as he turned to the two.

Connie's eyes darted around the canyon, her eyelids squinted to shield from the glare of the rising sun. She had to confess, it was a little different from what she expected; from what Steven had told her earlier, she had expected a lush garden even more magnificent than the island, not a canyon. "Steven? Where's the fountain?" she asked.

"The fountain's up ahead. Come on," he replied. He waved his arm and took the lead of the others, and began to march through the canyon. Lapis, however, quickly caught up to him and tapped his shoulder, earning his attention.

"Steven, are you sure this is going to work?"

"Positive. We used it to heal Amethyst's gem once, and it should do the same thing to yours."

Lapis nodded and turned her eyes back to the front. "Thank you..."

Steven nodded. But his face fell into a frown at the same time; a thought crossed his mind, and one he needed to get off his chest. And preferably before he healed her gem.

"Hey... Lapis?"

"Hm?"

"Listen, I've been thinking..." Steven looked down and touched the tips of his index fingers. His feet anxiously shuffled against the rocky canyon floor, scuffing up the bottom of his sandals. "What are you going to do once your gem's healed? Are you going to go back to Homeworld again?"

Lapis sighed and closed her eyes. "Honestly, Steven, I don't know... but I'm not going back. Not again."

Steven's face lit up.

"R-really? But... why not? I thought you'd really want to again, since it's your home..."

"The last time I went to Homeworld, they took me prisoner and forced me to back to Earth against my will. And then the hand ship crashed, and I'm probably seen as one of the instigators. Assuming it's been reported." Lapis' voice trailed off and she paused for a moment, as if she was allowing him to absorb all this. "If I go back, they'll brand me a traitor and, well... I'll have bigger problems than a cracked gem to worry about. I can't go back."

Even though Lapis was deathly serious, (and probably right, too), Steven couldn't help but allow himself to smile, ear-to-ear. "Well... if that's the way it has to be, then I guess you have no other choice but to stay. With _us._ "

"Yes... I guess you're right. I kind of liked that island we were on, and it's near the ocean. Maybe I'll stay there."

Steven blinked and pursed his lips. It seemed the point of his message flew right over her head. "No, what I mean is—hang on a second. We're here."

Lapis broke off her thoughts and turned her attention forward. She couldn't help but gasp at the sight; the fountain was _enormous._ Its basin, while dry, went several feet deep, and ran from canyon wall to canyon wall. A few stray rose petals fluttered gently in the breeze to complete the scenery, around both her and...

The statue. The gigantic, stone statue in the middle, featuring a tall gem with her gem embedded in the middle of a star.

A monument of a gem. And one she knew.

* * *

"Yes, it makes sense. Steven's gem bubbles are pink, I don't know how I forgot that..."

Pearl said nothing to Garnet, the words dying on the tip of her tongue. Instead, she ran a hand through her messy, wind-whipped hair and surveyed the beach again. The ocean water had overtaken most of the smaller footprints, but the giant craters of sand remained mostly untouched, with every detail preserved. The fingers especially.

Malachite's fingers.

"... We need to find him."

Garnet had to chuckle. "Yes, Pearl, we do. And I'll have quite a few questions to—"

"Of course we'll have questions to ask! How did he even know where Malachite _was?_ We've been looking for her for months, and then he—in the middle of the night—finds her, splits her apart, _and_ bubbles Jasper?!"

"I don't know how he did it, either." Garnet's top eye closed behind the cover of her silver shades. "Not even my future vision predicted this... it's a mystery. But we'll have plenty of time to worry about that later."

Pearl sheepishly nodded and slouched her shoulders. She let loose a sigh of exasperation and started a slow, consistent walk up the beach. Garnet quickly matched her pace. "Well, one thing's for certain: we still don't know where he is," said Pearl to her teammate. "We know he's been to this beach recently, but it still doesn't give us a clue. The trail's gone cold."

"We'll just have to put our heads together. I'll try my future vision again."

Pearl glumly nodded in acknowledgement; now that they had no lead, it was time to go back to the drawing board. She then craned her neck to look around the beach once again, and the first thing she noticed was a large, flat surfaced rock along the row of jungle trees, just up beyond the beach. She tapped Garnet on the shoulder and gestured her thumb to it, earning a nod from her teammate.

They both walked to the rock and sat down.

* * *

Jasper looked up to the sky. It was the only thing she _could_ do, flat on her back.

She still didn't know where she was or how she got there, but one thing was for certain: her gem was cracked. Badly. Her energy supply was all but cut off from her physical form, making even the simplest of tasks unbearable. And there was no relief coming from anyone, or anything. It was like she was the only one on the planet, in this endless, lush field.

But she knew that wasn't true. And if Lapis, or those other gems, or even Rose were to come along...

Jasper's face scrunched up into a scowl. She pressed her palms flat against the ground, and, with every bit of strength she could muster, desperately pushed up to the sky. Her arms wobbled with tremendous resistance, and fast-forming drops of sweat streamed down her face and stung her eyes. She screamed at the feeling enveloping her body, as if millions of pins and needles poked everywhere.

Her left arm gave way. She tumbled back to the ground with a thud.

Again.

* * *

"Hey, Connie! Keep Lapis company, I have to get the fountain running."

Before Connie even had the opportunity to reply, Steven ran along the edge of the water basin, behind the stone statue, and ducked behind the stone barrier with the star outline, completely out of sight. The young girl sighed and turned around.

_"You know, I think the last time I tried to talk to her was when... she tried to drown me. Hm."_

Connie decided to keep a little distance. Personal space never hurt anyone.

"Uh... hi, Lapis."

The blue gem didn't move. Connie nervously tapped her toes in her shoes against the ground.

"... Lapis? Are you okay?"

"Not _you..._ "

Goosebumps spread along Connie's arm like a plague. Her eyes darted around the canyon. It didn't take her long, however, before she came to look at the statue; was that what Lapis was referring to? And why?

"Lapis, are you okay? Is it the statue?"

That got her attention.

Without a word spoken, Lapis turned to face Connie. The young girl felt a shiver run down her spine at the sight: her wide, threatening orbs gave her a feeling of unease, like she was piercing her soul. her soul. Her pupils, already small to begin with, were dilated, and almost invisible. Her face was contorted into a permanent frown, her eyebrows creased and her mouth slightly agape.

Lapis took a deep breath. She didn't speak, but instead swiveled back to face the statue. Connie did the same.

* * *

"Come on, where's that stupid drain? It's gotta be here somewhere..."

His head ducked low and his palms scuffed from crawling around, Steven fidgeted under a large, elevated stone slab as he desperately reached his arm as far as it could go. He wasn't exactly sure why, but he had a feeling that, for sure, _this_ one would be the drain to get the fountain started.

His hand brushed against a crystalline stone, shaped like a rounded doorknob. _"Righty tighty, lefty loosy..."_

Steven repeatedly turned his wrist to the left, over and over again. And then, just when he was sure the knob was about to come out, a low rumbling rippled throughout the canyon. The distinct sound of rushing water followed just a moment later.

"HA HA! YES!"

Steven climbed out from under the elevated slab and collapsed to his back, his arms raised in victory. He then jumped to his feet and ran up the back stairs, and through the gigantic stone star in the barrier behind the statue. He waved to Connie and Lapis.

"Guys, I got it working! Lapis, just dive in and your gem'll be healed!"

Steven continued to wave his arms, his eyes focused solely on Lapis. She didn't wear an expression of joy or relief like he thought she would, however; rather it was almost one of... anger. And she hadn't budged even an inch towards the fountain.

And then, without a reason why, she turned around and began to walk away.

Steven's face fell crestfallen. He jumped down from the star and ran along the edge of the basin and past Connie, before skidding his tear-soaked shoes around a corner.

Lapis had already walked down the way they arrived, and she kept her back turned to him as she stormed past Lion and the warp pad. Her balled fists hung from her sides like they were made of iron.

"Lapis! Where are you going?"

"LEAVE ME ALONE, STEVEN!"

The hairs on Steven's neck stood up straight. Still, with disregard for her wish, his feet lumbered forward and caught up with his friend. "Lapis, you need to heal your gem! Just go and get in the fountain, it'll be really quick!"

"I'm not going _anywhere_ near... that."

Steven creased his eyebrows in confusion. "Huh? Why not?"

Lapis brought her walk to a slow halt. And then, with a sigh, she leaned her back against the canyon wall, closed her eyes, and sat down on the spot. Steven quickly mirrored the reaction, his eyes fixed to her in concern.

"Lapis... please, tell me."

Lapis stayed quiet, and for the most part, unresponsive. And then, as her hand ran across the stone floor of the canyon, she angled herself to face the fountain once again. The brilliant pink tears cascaded down from the statue's eyes in twin waterfalls, converging to a magnificent pool below. And in the sky just above, bright pink rose petals fluttered down from _somewhere,_ and filled the pink sky like confetti.

The sight was lovely to her. And the truth was, she wanted nothing more than to dive into the pool, and let the healing tears overflow her.

But there was a catch.

"Steven... this fountain belongs to Rose Quartz."

"... Yeah, my mom. So?"

* * *

"... What about the fountain?"

Garnet glanced at Pearl, out of the corner of her eyes; it was the first time either of them had spoken in upwards of half an hour. Despite her wish to 'put their heads together,' they had largely kept to themselves in their thoughts. Still, any idea was very much welcomed.

"The fountain? Why there?"

"I've been thinking... remember Jasper's gem? It was cracked."

"Well, yes, but why—" Garnet cut herself off. She lightly nodded her head as it dawned on her. "He would go there for Lapis, wouldn't he?"

"If Jasper's gem was cracked in some sort of battle, then it's likely hers was, too," nodded Pearl. "And he knows the only place to go to heal a cracked gem is Rose's fountain."

"I see... that's a very good idea. Better than what I had," chuckled Garnet. She pressed her hands flat against the rock and leaned back, her neck angling up to give her a glimpse of the early morning sky. "But even so... my future vision is having a hard time discerning anything concrete. It's a gamble."

"And one we have to take. Let's get back to the warp pad," said Pearl. She stood up from the rock and crossed her arms, expecting her teammate to do the same. To her disappointment, she instead brought herself forward and locked her hands together.

"Pearl, slow down. We have to think about this."

"What's there to think about? It's at least worth a shot!"

"I know, but rushing in blindly won't help anyone." Garnet stood up and shifted her gaze to the beach. She started to walk down the bright sands in the same direction as the warp pad, with Pearl by her side. "Let's review the facts: Steven apparently knew where Malachite was, yet he didn't tell us."

"Well... yes, but what does that have to do with the fountain?"

"Nothing, not yet. But if he went to go save Lapis, and he didn't tell us about it... then he's avoiding us. Hiding his cell phone proves it all the more."

"So he's trying to keep this a secret, and we don't know why. That's what we have to find out."

"Exactly."

* * *

_"I must be in my gem..."_

Jasper was sure of it. There was no other explanation.

The last thing she remembered, she was a part of Malachite, on the beach of some deserted island. The next thing she knew, an open field with a badly cracked gem and, most importantly, no Lapis? Or even Rose?

Nope. It was her gem.

_"And I've never been in my gem before... I wouldn't know."_

Jasper rolled over to her side and dug her fingers into the cool, soft earth, basking in the feeling against her fingers. It was very different from the cold, dark water she had grown so accustomed to.

She wasn't exactly happy, trapped inside her gem. But as far as prisons went, there were worse ones to be in.

Her anxiety turning to energy, Jasper planted her hands against the ground once more and tried to sit up. Through practice, she found, if she moved carefully, that she could force herself upright; it was exhausting to stay that way, for sure, but at least she could get there, for even just a little.

The process worked. It took well over a minute, too long for her liking, but at last her stomach muscles loosened, and she was up. And then, using her newfound height to the fullest, she took the opportunity to look around the field: nothing was different from the last time. Nobody in the distance, nothing in the sky, just the same old green grass and bright yellow sun.

Jasper sighed. Her tour of surveillance finished, she spread her arms out side-to-side and fell to her back.

Even though she was badly wounded, Jasper had to confess her new scenery was... boring. Uneventful. She was a Quartz gem, one built for combat, and being isolated in a happy place was _not_ her definition of enjoyment. In a way, she almost _missed_ the battle for Malachite's mind, and all the thrills it brought her. Comparatively speaking, her gem just didn't measure up.

And the worst part was, she didn't even know when to regenerate. Would it just happen, when the time was right?

* * *

The temple door swung open. The heat from the burning room jumped out of the frame, and rushed into the house like steam. She silently hoped it wouldn't linger for long, in case someone came back.

She stepped inside the room and let her gem glow disappear. The door behind her slammed shut, and with it any contact to the outside world. She was completely alone. And that was just what she needed.

She walked over to the fire pit in the center of the room, and reached as high as she could. It had been left low-hanging by Garnet, under the assumption it wouldn't be bothered. She hoped her teammate would never find out how wrong she was.

For a brief moment, she quietly rolled it over in her hands, time and time again. The brilliant pink surface, the reflection of all the other bubbles above... it looked elegant. Truly a marvel to admire. But not for much longer.

She stopped fidgeting her hands. Instead, she held the bubble perfectly still. She just had to... do it. And she knew it.

The small, green hands continued to hold the bubble in place. And then, without another sound, she began to press. Harder. _"Any second now..."_ she thought.

And then Jasper's bubble burst. With heightened reflexes, Peridot caught the exposed gem in mid-air, as gently as she could; she didn't want to aggravate the damage. She closed her eyes and sighed.

"Jasper..."


	7. Chapter 7

 

Amethyst rooted through the pile again. She shoved away axes and swords, cereal boxes and furniture, all the junk she'd accumulated over the years, until she had a decently sized opening. She looked inside the pile for a moment, searching.

She just didn't know what for.

After a moment or two, Amethyst rolled her eyes. As usual, nothing was new. Just the same old pile of junk, though this one was only stacked fifty or so years ago. The other was more than a hundred. Did it even make a difference?

_"... Nah."_

Amethyst glanced around her room. She noticed a beat-up looking couch a little ways away, and she made her way to it, careful to step around a bunch of stuff strewn about the floor. She plopped down and crossed her legs.

"Look in our rooms..."

The more she thought about it, the more Amethyst realized she didn't even know what they were doing. The idea was ridiculous. Looking in their rooms for Steven? What good would that do? He was _gone._

And their still searching here reeked of denial.

Amethyst stood up from the couch. Her eyes caught a puddle embedded in the ground, and she lingered for a moment. It probably led to Pearl's room.

_"I know Peridot told me not to bother them... come on, she won't mind for just a minute. I'll ask her."_

* * *

Peridot turned Jasper's gem over in her hand. She held it out arms fully outstretched, and she waited for the flash. Now that the bubble was popped, she'd regenerate. Any second now...

"... Jasper?"

The gem did nothing. Peridot sighed. _"Maybe she doesn't even know how... should I—"_

And then the gem in Peridot's hands started to glow. It jumped out of her palms and hovered in place, and then started to spin. Peridot took a step back and smiled.

After a moment or two in suspension, Jasper began to emerge. Her arms and legs poked out and grew to normal size, and then the rest of her body took shape. Peridot heard a deep grunt from the gem, and it send a shiver down her spine.

And then the light broke off. Jasper tumbled to the ground in a heap, and she made no effort to move. Peridot ran to her side and knelt.

"Jasper!"

Now Jasper flattened her arm on the ground. She craned her neck as far as she could, and she caught Peridot out of the corner of her eye. "You... what are _you_ doing here?"

"I'm here to help you... we need to get your gem healed, now."

Jasper's eyes widened. She reached up to her face; she winced as prickles of pain shot through her, but she rubbed her gem anyway. It was indeed cracked, just as she suspected. At least it didn't hurt as badly as last time...

"H-how did you even get in my gem? Why are you here?"

Peridot slightly cocked her head. "Your gem? We're not in your gem. You regenerated."

"But... but _how?_ I never—" Jasper grunted through clenched teeth, and tightly closed her eyes; the strength in her arm was failing, and she couldn't hold herself up much longer. "I... never tried to regenerate! What did... you _do?!"_

Peridot's lips went dry. She took a step back from Jasper, and her other foot prepared for another. "I... I popped the bubble so I can fix your gem! Isn't that what you want?"

Jasper opened her mouth. But before she could speak, her trembling arm finally gave way, and she fell back to the floor stomach-first. Her eyes caught the wall of the burning room, and she didn't recognize it.

"I don't know what you're talking about," she gasped. "You can't... fix a broken gem. You're not a Rose Quartz..."

Peridot grinned. "No, I'm not. But there's somewhere we can go."

* * *

"Lapis, it's been more than an hour. Talk to me."

Lapis didn't open her eyes, nor did she speak. Instead, she shook her head, and turned her shoulder away from Steven. He sighed.

"Look, I get you don't want to talk about whatever's bothering you, but—"

"Steven, I told you, leave me alone. Drop it."

"Drop it? What, like it's nothing?!" Steven jumped to his feet, and this finally got Lapis to turn around. "Lapis, in case you _forgot,_ your gem is cracked. Badly. You can't even summon your wings. And _behind_ me," he exclaimed, as he pointed in the distance to the fountain, "is my mom's fountain, which'll heal you in two seconds! Why do you need to be so stubborn?"

Lapis peered over his shoulder. The pink tears were still flowing from the statue's eyes, and the pool had long overflowed. Pink stains bleached the stone all around, and mixed with the rose petals that fell from the sky long ago.

"Steven, I won't use a sanctuary from Rose Quartz. I'm sorry."

Steven bit his lower lip. His hand flexed to his stomach, and rubbed over his gem. He buried his chin in his collarbone.

"... Fine."

Steven picked up his feet and stormed past Lapis. He didn't bother to look over his shoulder, and he assumed she did the same. He shook his head.

"LION!"

Lion jumped out from around the corner of the cliff, with Connie on her back. She wore a bright smile on her face, but it quickly faded as she caught a look at him. She hopped off Lion's back and ran to Steven.

"Steven, what happened? Did she use the fountain?" He shook his head.

"No dice. We'll have to try plan B."

Connie nodded. She gestured for him to follow, and then walked to Lion. "Leave and come back in a few minutes?"

"Yep, and make it _really_ obvious. Lion, do you think you can roar extra loud when you make the portal this time?" The big cat nodded, and Steven grinned. "All right then, let's—"

* * *

"Do you think he's been here?"

Garnet glanced around the canyon. She didn't _see_ any sign of Steven or Lapis, but she perked her ears; even from as far away as the warp pad, she could pick up the faint sound of the fountain, gushing with Rose's tears.

"Yes, he's definitely been here already. Whether he's still around, however..."

Garnet and Pearl stepped off the warp pad. The fused gem gestured in the fountain's direction with her thumb, and Pearl nodded; they both began to walk along the wall of the canyon, but as quietly as possible. They strained to listen for anything more.

"... use the fountain?"

Pearl stopped on the spot, and flattened herself against the cliffside to hide. Garnet quickly did the same. "That sounds like Connie," she whispered to Garnet. She nodded, and then signaled with her hand to hush.

"No dice. We'll have to try plan B."

Garnet frowned. That was him, all right.

"Leave and come back in a few minutes?"

"Yep, and make it _really_ obvious. Lion, do you think you can roar extra loud when you make the portal this time?" A period of silence followed, but Garnet and Pearl had a vague idea what was happening. And they knew the time to act was now. "All right then, let's—"

Garnet stepped out from the cliffside, with Pearl right beside her. All the blood drained from Steven's face.

* * *

"P? Yo, Pearl, anybody home?"

Amethyst squinted and cupped her hands over her eyes. For miles and miles, the waterfalls ran across Pearl's room, but she couldn't see her friend on any of them. _"Hm... is she in another room?"_

Amethyst turned around on the spot. Her gem glowed for the briefest moment, and then the temple door swung open. She stepped through and into the living room, and it slammed shut behind her. "Pearl?" she called from the house's warp pad; the sun had risen and brought light to the foyer, but once again, nothing but silence.

"Ugh... where _is_ everyone? It's like they disa..."

Amethyst's voice tapered off. Her mouth hung limply open, and her face was frozen. _"Disappeared..."_ she thought. Gone without a trace. Like they were _never even there._

"Peridot!"

Amethyst stormed to the temple door. The green gem embedded in the star flashed its hue, and then the whole design began to spin; the stone cracked open not long after. She stomped into Peridot's room, fists clenched and eyes wide. "Peridot? Come out!"

Amethyst didn't wait for an answer. She went to the side of Peridot's room, and looked under her workbench; she half expected to find her trembling and curled in a ball, but instead met nothing but scattered bits & pieces and cobwebs.

"Darn it! Where _is_ she?" grunted Amethyst. She poked her head up from under the workbench, and stole a glimpse of the room: It was fairly new, and not a whole lot of furniture had been moved in, save for Peridot's bench, bolted against the wall, and a few scattered chairs.

Amethyst shook her head. Peridot almost never spent time in her room in any event, but if they were "checking them" like she said, then she should've been in it. Checking her room. Like she _said._

_"Then... why did she LIE to me?!"_

Amethyst stared at the door for a moment. She thought about where to go next; maybe Pearl's room again, though she probably wasn't back... and Ruby and Garnet's rooms were inaccessible to anyone but them. They made sure of that themselves.

_"... Maybe the burning room? We had the meeting there, after all... maybe Garnet's in there with Peridot."_

Amethyst shrugged her shoulders. Her gem started to glow again.

* * *

_"... Oh, jeez."_

Steven's eyes shot to their corners. He vaguely caught sight of Connie, and he could see her expression mirrored his: Eyes wide, face pale, and demeanor frozen in fear. He switched back to Garnet and Pearl.

"Uh... hi guys?"

"STEVEN!"

Pearl stomped the few extra feet to Steven. The child shut his eyes and braced for the worst, but rather than a punishment, she swooped down, plucked him in her arms, and squeezed him tight. A faint "oh" escaped his lips, and his eyes blinked open again.

"Steven, what were you _thinking?!"_ exclaimed Pearl. "Running off and fighting Malachite WITHOUT US?! And you even brought Connie into it!"

"H-hey, I know, I know!" Steven's voice was muffled in Pearl's shirt. She stretched her arms, and brought him face-to-face with her. "Look, I know what we did was dangerous, but—"

"Steven, listen to me. What you did wasn't dangerous. It was _suicidal."_ Garnet slowly made her way to Pearl's side, and behind her steely shades, her three eyes bored in Steven's two. "Malachite was an unstable, dangerous gem more powerful than any of us. I told you all this just last night. Why would you try to challenge her by yourself?"

Steven tensed the muscles in his neck. It took every fiber of his being to not turn around, at the fountain. At Lapis.

"Hey, wait a second! You need to hear our part in this!"

All three gems turned to Connie. She forced herself to swallow the lump in her throat.

"Listen... I don't think you're being fair here. Steven had a good reason for not telling you guys! Isn't that right, Steven?"

"Uh... yeah, we had a reason. That's right. It, um... well, you see, I had another dream. You know, that whole "mind sharing" thing, heh heh..."

Pearl raised an eyebrow. Still, she gently set Steven down at last, and he quickly scurried to Connie and Lion. "A dream? You mean the mind connection, like the first time."

"Yeah," Steven nodded. "That's how I learned where she was. And..."

"... And?"

Steven paused for a moment. He looked over the expressions of Pearl and Garnet; both were perfectly stoic, and set in stone. A light frown shaped his lips.

"And that's why I chose not to tell you. Lapis told me she _wanted_ to break the fusion, but I thought if you were there, then she might get really upset and stay as Malachite. She doesn't exactly like you guys..."

Steven brought his hand to the side of his face, and quickly swiped away a bead of sweat. Though he had told the truth in his story, he didn't tell all of it. He just hoped they didn't figure that out.

"Steven, I understand that... but that still doesn't make it right," said Garnet. "Even though your plan worked, the margin for error was zero. You could've been killed."

"I get that! You think I _didn't_ know that when I made my choice? Garnet, this wasn't easy, it never was... but I _had_ to do it! Can't you see it my way?"

Garnet said nothing. Neither did Pearl, nor Connie, or even Lion. The canyon fell quiet, save for a few blasts of wind, and the ever flowing fountain. Steven stared right ahead, and kept focused on a tree in the distance. Anything to prevent him from looking behind, and giving away Lapis. They didn't know she was still here, so maybe—

And then he heard her voice. It echoed off the canyon walls and hit him like a bullet:

"Steven? Are... are you still there?"

 


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After this chapter, I'm afraid I'll have to go on a little hiatus for a week or so. As a result, this chapter's a little shorter than I would have liked, and I apologize.

"A fountain?"

"Yes, a fountain. One with Rose Quartz's tears."

Jasper shook her head. Prickles of pain poked her head and neck, and she scrunched her face in agony; a few stray grains from her gem trickled down the bridge, and burned away in the searing air next to the fire pit. "There's no… there's no such thing. And Rose is dead. I can't be healed..."

"Rose isn't _dead_ , she merely gave up her physical form," said Peridot. "Were you even listening to my story?"

"No."

Peridot rolled her eyes. She crossed her arms, and jammed her thumbs into her ribcage. "Well why weren't… fine. We'll have plenty of time to talk about it later. Can you stand?"

Jasper planted her palms against the ground. The floor, hot from the nearby fire pit, gently burned her palms and fingertips, but she ignored the feeling. She angled her knees to the ceiling, tensed her arms, and forced herself to stand up.

The prickly pain in her head, once a mere spot, exploded like a bombshell. Blots of rainbow and white poked her eyes and blinded her. A searing burn, scalding and smitten, seeped down her throat and filled her lungs with agony, taking away her breath. Pins and needles washed through her body, and a wave of nausea centered itself in her stomach and made her gag. Her arms and legs wobbled and shook, fighting the strain, but she lasted only a few seconds more.

Peridot quietly watched, and her eyes shimmered with a gentle worry. She had assumed Jasper, at the _very_ least, would've been able to get up; a gem of her stature, a Quartz warrior, wasn't one that went down easily. A few gem cracks were like dust on her shoulder. If she was this badly hurt, getting her to the fountain would be a real challenge. To say nothing of doing it quietly...

Peridot sat down on the spot. She crossed her legs absentmindedly, and her arms followed suit. She eyes Jasper for a moment longer, watching her squirm and struggle to get up from the floor; each attempt ended quick than the last, until she finally stayed down in a sweaty, panting heap. Peridot frowned, and angled her eyes to the temple door.

"Jasper, do you think you can retreat to your gem again? Right now?"

She received no response but labored, ragged breathing. Jasper opened her mouth, but her dry, leathery throat could only force a few grunts. Peridot leaned forward, then cupped her ear with her hand.

"Uh… what was that?"

"GIVE ME A SECOND!"

Peridot's head shot back in surprise. Her heart pounded in her chest like a drum, and freshly released adrenaline coursed through her body and mind. Her eyes, wide and throbbing, shot to the temple door. It was as still as ever.

Peridot breathed a sigh of relief. She relaxed her neck, and let her head sag until her chin gently locked with her collar. She knew it was a silly idea, but what if someone—namely Amethyst— _heard_ that shout? It only took one of them strolling on in, maybe out of nothing but curiosity, for the secret to be out…

Peridot turned to Jasper again. She felt a pit form in her stomach, and it grew as the seconds ticked along. Jasper wasn't even _moving_ anymore. It was as if she were asleep—and maybe she was. Her eyes were closed, and her whole body was still.

And then she poofed.

A cloud of dust kicked up from Jasper's gem. The fumes, thick and black, mixed with the molten ash leaking from the fire pit. It spread around the room quickly, and dropped tiny specks of soot and molten rock all around. The walls and floors were caked grayish, wispy powder, and it landed everywhere. Peridot coughed, but staggered to her feet. She brought her thumb to her visor and wiped away the dust cover.

Just next to the fire pit, Jasper's gem sat bare. A little closer to the pit than Peridot would have liked, but the orange stone shimmered in the light nevertheless. She could see the cracks, spreading from the center and sides, but they looked no worse than last time.

Peridot slyly grinned. She walked over to Jasper's gem and knelt. She plucked it from the dusty floor with her thumb and index finger, and turned it over. Then she put it in her outfit's pocket, and gave it a subtle pat. " _I'll get you healed soon…"_

The temple door opened.

Peridot screeched. She whipped around on her heel, and jumped back in fright. Had she not been careful, perhaps right into the fire pit. But after seeing the look on Amethyst's face, maybe that was the place to go.

"Uh, h-hi, Amethyst! What… what brings you here?"

"You know _exactly_ why I'm here."

Amethyst's voice was cold, and calculating. It held none of the warmth and playfulness Peridot knew. Neither did her face; her eyes were suffused in a blank glare, focused frozen upon her, but her mouth sharply curled down. Her hands were balled in tight fists, and the veins popped from her fingers.

Amethyst hopped from the temple door, perched above the burning room floor, and touched down. She looked around the room, and her face melted into puzzlement. She bent down and ran her hand along the ground, and then brought it close to her eyes; her fingers were caked in the molten dust and ash. She waved her hand and whisked it away, and then bodied herself to face Peridot.

"Peridot, what are you doing in here?"

"Me? Why, uh… just making sure the bubbles are okay! Since we got Jasper's, maybe another one came in, you know?"

"Don't lie to me."

Peridot gulped. She skidded back on her heels, until she bumped into the fire pit. She saw Amethyst's eyes widen for the briefest moment, but they froze over again.

"Peridot, Garnet and Pearl aren't around. You said they were in their rooms. What's going on here?"

"They're not? Well, I'm not sure why they wouldn't be… maybe they went out to look for him again without telling us?"

"They would have told us they were leaving. You're hiding something."

Amethyst's eyes glazed over Peridot. Her face, contorted in what seemed to her like a worried, wide-eyes frown, gave away her feelings. Her arms were crossed tight. Her feet ran over each other, and her knees shook trembled.

" _Wait… what's that bump in her pocket?"_

* * *

Pearl rose to her tiptoes. That voice from the canyon, it sounded familiar to her. In fact…

"Garnet, was that—"

"Yes."

Garnet held up her arms. Pokes of white flashes burst from her palms, and coated her hands in a bubble. Then it molded and shaped itself, fingers and knuckles defined, and finally turned red. Her gauntlets.

Steven gagged.

"WAIT, GARNET, STOP!"

"Steven, listen to me. We spoke at the temple, and we've decided to bubble Lapis. She's too unpredictable to leave alone."

Steven's eyes popped open wide. He sprinted to Garnet's feet, pebbles and rocks kicking up from his sandals in his hurry. He stuck out his arms and pushed against her, blocking her path. "You can't! You don't understand, she's _not like that!_ Don't hurt her!"

Pearl eyed Steven from the corner of hers. Her lips dissolved into a frown, a sympathetic gaze washing over her expression. She sighed. "Steven, I'm sorry, but we have to. After Malachite, we can't risk having her on Earth."

In all the commotion, no one noticed Connie turn around.

She didn't dare look over her shoulder, but from the sound of it, Steven and the others were locked in a heated conversation. They were too distracted to notice anything else. Hopefully.

Connie ran on her tiptoes back into the canyon. She danced around pebbles and plants, rocks and boulders. She kept her steps as quiet as possible. Her eyes stayed locked to the ground… and then she bumped into Lapis.

"Ugh!" she said as she fell to the ground. Lapis stayed standing, but she stopped.

"Hey, you? What's your name again?"

"Uh… Connie." Connie rubbed the back of her head and neck while she spoke. She then looked over her palm; a thin layer of dust had settled, but no blood. She breathed a sigh, a mixture of relief and anxiety.

"Connie, what's going on over there? It sounds like Steven's talking to someone."

Connie's eyes split wide. "Oh… Lapis, listen to me. I know you _really_ don't want to use the fountain, but you have to heal your gem and get your wings back. Now."

"Now? But why?"

"It's the Crystal Gems. They're here."

As she spoke, a bright pink flash burst throughout the canyon. It lingered on the stone walls and floor, and reflected from the sunlight into the sky in bright spots. Connie already knew what it was.

"Lapis, he's using his shield! He can't stop them from coming in here for much longer, go!"

Lapis turned on her heel. The fountain had stopped flowing from the eyes, but the pool of tears was still filled to the top. All she had to do was go to it…

Lapis closed her eyes, as tightly as she could. She held her breath, and a shake of disgust ran through her body. But then she ran forward, cupped her hands, and dove right in.

At first, a tingling sensation tickled her gem. Then it spread to her sides, and up her arms and legs. Then it started to throb, and her whole body was enveloped in a gentle pulse. It relaxed her limbs and mind. She brought her hand to her back, and rubbed over her gem; the cracks were fading away, one at a time. She tracked their progress by swiping her finger over the surface, over and over again.

And then, at long last, the final crack faded forever.

Lapis grinned. She spread her arms wide, and her wings sprouted from her back. She flapped them a few times for practice. Then, she swam down and touched her feet to the floor of the tear pool, squatted her knees, and lifted her head.

She leaped. She shot straight up through the tears, and burst through the surface like a missile. And when she broke free from the pool, her wings took over at last, and she took to the skies.

* * *

Steven rolled in Garnet's arm. He had no hope of escape; her grip was too tight. Just barely enough to keep from crushing him. He could only wiggle around a little, and crane his neck up to look above him, and only for a few seconds before it hurt too much.

But he did so anyway. And when he saw Lapis, flapping her wings high in the sky, he smiled.

Pearl and Garnet exchanged glances. Pearl couldn't see her teammate's eyes behind her shades, but she had a feeling they matched her own: tense. Garnet broke the contest and turned back to the sky.

"Lapis Lazuli!"

Lapis said nothing. She kept her gaze fixed to Steven, in Garnet's arm. Her breathing turned slow and heavy, through clenched teeth.

"Lapis Lazuli!" Garnet called again. Now Lapis eyed her.

"Let go of Steven!"

Garnet shook her head. "Only if you come down! We can work this out… in a civilized manner."

Lapis eyed the two Crystal Gems. Pearl's spear wasn't drawn, but Garnet's gauntlets were in plain sight. Both wore similar cold faces, with frosty eyes to match. The very same look they gave her during the interrogation. She remembered it well.

It took her about two seconds to decide "civilized manner" was out of the picture.

Lapis moved her hand behind her back. It started as a fist, but then she lifted her fingers to the sky, one at a time. The tears in the pool began to ripple.

"No… we really can't."

Lapis swung her arm forward. On her command, the tears in the pool rose up in two tall pillars, side by side. They soared high into the sky, sucking up all the moisture in the basin to continue their growth; then, when they reached her height at last, she closed her hands into fists. Both pillars did the same. The very technique Malachite used.

Lapis punched the air. The pillars of tears rushed forward, right for Pearl and Garnet.

With nimble feet and fast reflexes, the two Crystal Gems hopped out of the way: Pearl to the left, and Garnet to the right. Pearl reached to her forehead and summoned her spear, while Garnet tightened her grip on Steven. She dug her feet into the cliffside, and her head shot to the sky.

Lapis was gone.

"What the… Pearl, where's Lapis?!"

"I don't know!" came the reply, from the other side of the canyon. "Did she fly away?"

Garnet growled. The sound was guttural, completely unlike her; it sent a shiver down Steven's spine. She jumped from her perch on the cliffside to the ground, and turned to check her back. Her eyes beat around the canyon walls, unfocused on anything, but frantically scanning.

And that's when she saw her.

Lapis flew down from the sky like a bullet. Her wings flapped powerfully behind her, and methodically as well. She ducked and bobbed, and weaved and spun in the air. She was dodging nothing, she knew, but she had to make her flight unpredictable. Selling the act was key.

When she could see Garnet's mouth in the distance, hanging in a wide O, she sped up her wings. That was her cue, when she could clearly see the face. The critical moment was near. She balled her hands into fists.

Lapis brushed Garnet's side. In one swift motion, she swung her arm: it connected square with Garnet's jaw. She went skidding to the ground.

The other hand grabbed the collar of Steven's shirt.

Lapis wrapped her arms around Steven's chest, and held him tight in her arms. She heard him scream something, but she blotted it from her mind. All that mattered was getting away before Garnet could recover. She had seconds, at best, and she knew it.

She flapped her wings once. The wind was to her back, and it gave her all the speed she needed. She soared high over the canyon, over the fountain, over Connie and Lion, and over the Crystal Gems.

She was gone.


	9. Chapter 9

"Peridot, what's that in your pocket?"

Peridot slapped her hand to her hip. She felt around for a moment, her fingers fumbling every which way, but she danced around the bump she knew was there. "What? What are you—"

"That!" Amethyst pointed to her leg, and the sizable bump attached. "You know it's there as well as I do. What is it?"

"Uh... nothing."

Amethyst shook her head. She stomped across the burning room floor; Peridot eyes widened, and she froze on the spot. Amethyst quickly came face-to-face with her, and then she grabbed the collar of her uniform.

"Peridot, whatever it is you've got, don't make me _take_ it. Let me see."

Peridot gazed into Amethyst's eyes. They were cold, unrelenting. She saw none of the usual excitement or warmth she had come to expect from her teammate; this was strictly business. It was very similar to... Jasper. Back on the ship, at least.

Peridot sighed. And then, after closing her eyes, she slowly nodded.

Amethyst released her grip on Peridot's uniform. She landed square on her feet, but kept her hands away from her sides; she had to be careful not to aggravate the gem's cracks. Though she had a feeling when all was said and done, Jasper's gem would be a lot worse than just damaged...

Peridot reached into her pocket. She fumbled around for a moment, and finally rubbed her finger along Jasper's gem. She gently put it in her palm, and then lifted her hand out. She put it out in front of her, and looked Amethyst right in the eyes.

"... It's Jasper gem. That's what I have."

Peridot opened her fingers. Amethyst's eyes trickled down to her hand for a moment, and then back to Peridot's face.

"Why?"

"... Why what?"

"Why do you have her gem?" Amethyst cocked her head to the fire pit, just to her left. "Were you going to burn it?"

"Wha—no, no! Of course not!" Peridot was horrified at the suggestion, and its nonchalant delivery at that. "I was going to heal her at the fountain..."

Amethyst's face dissolved to a frown. She crossed her arms. "Heal her?"

"Yes, heal her. I know you don't exactly like her—"

"You got that right."

Peridot rolled her eyes. "I know you don't exactly like Jasper," she continued, "but she's not that evil, honest! She was just following orders. Once we get her fixed up... I don't know, maybe she'll be willing to hear us out? It's worth a shot."

"No, it really isn't. Don't you remember what happened on the ship?"

"Yes. She imprisoned you in lethal protective barrier cells and repeatedly threatened the destruction of both yourselves and the Earth if you failed to cooperate."

Amethyst's frown deepened. Peridot's eyes widened.

"B-but that was a long time ago! All those feelings of hatred and anger have had a long time to cool, so if we just—"

"Peridot, do you seriously think this is a good idea? If we heal her gem and let her regenerate, she'll just come out and attack us again. And I really doubt Garnet will be as... forgiving as last time."

Peridot gulped. She looked in her hand again, at Jasper's gem; it was every bit as worse for wear as it was before.

"But..." continued Amethyst, earning Peridot's attention. "Peridot, I don't like Jasper, but I think I understand why you're doing this."

"You do? How?"

"Well..." Amethyst shrugged her shoulders. "You were allies once, even if it was for Homeworld. It makes sense. Kinda."

Peridot breathed a sigh of relief. She had to admit, she hadn't been expecting this kind of reaction from Amethyst, this calm discussion. But it was certainly preferable to the alternative.

"But Peridot," she continued, "trust me when I say this: If you want to keep Jasper safe, put her back in the bubble, and don't let her regenerate."

"But why? We can't just _leave_ her here!"

"There's no other choice. If Pearl and Garnet see she's out, they're just going to hunter her down, crack her gem, and stuff her right back in another bubble. She has no way off of Earth, there's nowhere else to go."

Now it was Peridot's turn to frown. She took a few steps around the burning room, in a slow, steady pace; then she turned around and faced Amethyst again. She lifted up the gem, and held it out for her to see.

"Look at her gemstone, Amethyst."

Amethyst took her own step forward, and carefully looked over the rock. "It's cracked. We already knew that."

"Have you ever retreated to a cracked gem before?"

Amethyst blinked. The question caught her off guard, and her thoughts tapered off for a moment. "Uh... no, I haven't."

"Neither have I. But I've read reports on the experience. It seems that whatever damage is sustained to your physical being remains in your gem, and affects you just as much in there as it does out here."

"So?"

"So if we _don't_ fix Jasper's gem, she'll be stuck like this FOREVER! Cracked, damaged, even unable to to move! And it's not like it gets better in her gem... is that really the right thing to do? To just leave her in agony like this?"

Amethyst fell quiet. Her eyes fixed on Peridot's hand, and by effect Jasper's gem for a moment. Then she turned to Peridot's face: her head hung low to the ground, apparently watching her feet. Amethyst sighed.

"... Fine."

"Fine...?"

"We'll go and heal her at the fountain."

Peridot's frown flipped in a heartbeat. But before she could speak, Amethyst cleared her throat.

"But let me be clear: The _second_ her gem is fixed, she goes back in the bubble. Permanently. Do you understand?"

Peridot, after a moment, reluctantly nodded. She would've preferred Jasper to be free, but it was obvious the Crystal Gems weren't about to allow it; there was little point in fighting the decision. In any event, the whole point of her mission was to _fix_ Jasper's gem, and now the opportunity presented itself. Without a fight, at that.

"Okay then," said Amethyst, breaking Peridot's thoughts. "Let's go."

* * *

Connie watched the blue and red dot in the sky. Lapis and Steven, to be exact.

She wasn't quite sure how it happened. One moment, Steven was safe with the Garnet. The next, Garnet was flat on her back, courtesy of a nice punch to the jaw, and he was... for lack of a better term, kidnapped? By _Lapis?_

It was rather astounding. And that feeling didn't fade in Connie's mind in the slightest, not even as she watched them soar away from the canyon. Farther they went. Farther.

And then gone.

"GARNET!"

Connie's head whipped to her left. It was Pearl, leaned against the cliffside. She was breathing loudly, and sweat drenched her face. She'd forgotten she was even there.

"GARNET! SHE'S GETTING AWAY, COME ON!"

Now Connie looked to her right. Garnet was still flat on her back-Lapis packed quite a punch to her jaw, it seemed-but she jumped to her feet in an instant. She held out her hands, and a bright flash erupted from the gems embedded in her palm; she shrank several inches, and shapeshifted into the form of a bird. The same one she used at Mask Island.

"PEARL, GET ON! GO!"

Pearl started to sprint. But just before she reached Garnet, she skidded to a stop on her heels, and looked Connie in the eyes.

"Connie, have Lion bring you home. Don't wait here for us, we won't be coming back."

Connie nodded. With matters settled, Pearl ran the extra few steps to Garnet, swung her leg over her back, and grabbed her stomach tight. Garnet flapped her wings and flew up, and then, after angling herself, took off to follow Lapis and Steven.

Connie coughed from the dust kicked up.

* * *

"Here we are. Let's make this quick."

Amethyst stepped off the warp pad. Her hands were buried deep in her pockets, and her head hung low to blot out the surroundings. _Especially_ Peridot.

"I agree. We can't let Pearl and Garnet see we aren't at the temple, or they'll get suspicious. Come on."

Peridot led the way into the canyon, with Amethyst several steps behind. She stepped over danced around rocks and plants sticking up from the ground; then she went near the cliffside itself, and walked along the edge. Almost unknowingly, she took a quick peek at the rocks, but then she stopped for a better look.

"Hey... Amethyst, what's all this?"

Now Amethyst looked up. She deflected her gaze to Peridot, and took in what she was referring to. "The cliffside? What about it?"

"Look at it, it's all... damaged. Like there was a fight here."

Amethyst glanced over the cliff again. Now that she knew what to look for, she had to admit Peridot had a point; the wall of the cliff had huge holes from side-to-side, with chiseled rocks lining the ground. Not to mention several large gashes...

"Hm... these are probably from forever ago. Forget about it."

Peridot's gaze stayed locked for a moment longer. But then she turned back to the front, in the direction of the fountain, and continued her walk. After a minute or two of going in a straight line, she rounded a corner.

She stopped cold.

"LION?!"

* * *

Amethyst's eyes snapped open.

She'd been trailing several steps behind, but now she ran to catch up. When she rounded the corner and reached Peridot's side, she skidded to a stop, and then she looked forward. "Lion? Where? Where is—"

Amethyst cut herself off. Sure enough, just ahead of the two and leaned against the cliffside, was Lion. He looked to be sleeping, but his ear perked up at the shout. He didn't look up.

"Amethyst, what's _Lion_ doing here?" said Peridot. She turned to her with nervous eyes. "Why isn't he back at the house?"

"I... I don't know. He might've just decided to come here on his own, but—"

"Lion? Listen, do you think you can warp back to that one neighborhood you did a little while ago? Steven will be back soon, so it'll be just me."

The voice came from around the corner, and so did the sound of footsteps. Amethyst and Peridot turned.

Both pairs of eyes, almost simultaneously, met Connie's.

* * *

"LAPIS, STOP! STOP!"

Lapis paid no heed to Steven. She didn't need his distractions.

Keeping him in her arms through all his squirming and thrashing was bad enough. Trying to fly at top speed was even worse. But the _very last thing_ she needed, at that given moment, was for him to try and convince her to turn around and go back to the Crystal Gems. She knew that was what was on his mind, and she really didn't need to hear about it.

The point was to _escape. S_ he still had to finish the job.

Lapis, through her wind-whipped hair, threw her gaze over her shoulder. Even as her eyes stung, she caught the vague shapes Garnet, in the form of a massive bird, and Pearl on her back; they appeared to be just a touch slower than her, but still very much in pursuit. Pearl in particular caught her attention: she had a spear—at least twice the size of a normal one—in her hand, and her arm was raised high. If she ever got within throwing distance...

Lapis grunted, and turned to look forward again. From the corners of her eyes, she looked for something, _anything_ to help her shake them off; instead, she got nothing but open air and clouds. And the ocean underneath.

_"Ocean... wait!"_

"STEVEN, CLOSE YOUR MOUTH!"

She had to shout to be heard over the wind, but she hoped she got the message across. She looked at him in her arms, and saw that was indeed the case; for the first time since she took off, he had stopped wailing at last.

Lapis moved her hand to the top of his head. She flattened her palm along his hair, and then waited.

A small bubble emerged from her hand, just a little smaller than a tennis ball. Rather than popping from the pressure, however, it kept it's form intact; Lapis, in turn, kept it tightly pressed to Steven's head.

Then, after a moment, or two, the bubble increased in size. it slowly began to envelop his entire head. Finally, just as it reached his chin, it stopped itself and combined, firmly encasing his head within the sphere.

"WHAT THE-LAPIS, WHAT ARE YOU DOING? WHAT DID YOU DO?!"

"TAKE SLOW BREATHS! AND HOLD ON!"

For the time being, Lapis kept her flight path straight. But then, just as she passed into a cloud, she turned her wings sharply, and dove straight down. She brought Steven close to her chest, and angled her shoulder to take the impact.

They plunged into the water.

* * *

"... Connie?"

Amethyst stared at Connie, and vice versa. The tension in the air was thick; almost suffocating. It was the first either had spoken in minutes.

Connie said nothing. She kept her eyes locked on Amethyst's, and only occasionally flickered to Peridot. They both shared one feature: shock. Not fear, but shock. Fear was hers, and hers alone.

"What are you doing here?"

Connie shut her mouth. She hadn't meant to speak out, not yet. Now the ball was in their court, and it was coming right back.

"Us? What are _you_ doing here?"

Connie paused for a moment. She looked over Amethyst and Peridot again: they didn't seem particularly _angry,_ just surprised. And since Lapis was long gone, was there really any harm in telling them the truth.

"... Steven and I came here to heal Lapis. Her gem was cracked."

"Wait, Steven's _here?"_ shouted Peridot. _"_ Where? Where is he?!"

"He's not, not anymore... he left."

Peridot scrunched her eyebrows. She lowered herself back to her heels. "He left? Where? Tell us!" From the corner of her eye, she saw Amethyst nod in agreement.

Connie gulped.

"Uh... he was... he was taken by Lapis. By force. Pearl and Garnet are going after them."

Amethyst and Peridot fell quiet. Now they both watched her again, with the same eyes as before; suspicious, confused, even cold. Taken by force? They weren't entirely sure _exactly_ what she meant, but... it sure sounded like kidnapping. Neither could bring themselves to ask.

"B-but don't worry!" Connie's voice tore through the silence like a knife. "Lapis won't get away. They'll catch her, I know it. Steven'll be back soon..."

* * *

Lapis laughed to herself.

She had to confess, even though she had to come up with it on the spot, using the ocean was an ingenious idea. Pearl and Garnet? They could _never_ hope to follow her, not down here. She was already hundreds of feet below the surface, and always zig-zagging and changing course. She lost them many miles ago, and she knew it. She didn't even need to check.

And the bubble around Steven's head was a nice touch. To make sure he didn't drown, of course.

Still, as the thought crossed her mind, Lapis looked at the child in her arms. His eyes were closed, and his mouth open just ajar. She gently grabbed his wrist between her thumb and index finger, and held it: a steady pulse hit her fingertips. She wasn't sure exactly _when_ he passed out, but the point was he was okay.

Even so, Lapis's smiled faded. Her arms, tense and stiff, brought Steven close to her. She closed her eyes tight.

_"Don't worry, Steven. I'll get you far away from them, and all their lies..."_


	10. Chapter 10

"So they're not coming back?"

"That's what they told me. They'll probably bring him back to the beach house."

Peridot nodded with a smile. Amethyst kept her expression stoic, but she mirrored the gesture anyway. "Good. It'll be less trouble for us."

"Because you're about to heal Jasper, right?"

"You got it," said Peridot. "Amethyst and I _really_ prefer that they aren't around. It makes our lives easier, since they wouldn't exactly agree with it. I have to say _you_ seem okay with it, though."

Connie grinned. "Yeah. To be honest, I'm actually really glad you're doing this; Steven said he refused to heal Jasper a little while ago, and I thought that was wrong. I'm glad to see you two agree with me."

Peridot nodded once again. Amethyst didn't.

"Anyway, the basin is already full, so there's nothing stopping you." Connie stepped to the side, unobstructing their path to the fountain. "If you two don't mind, can I stay here and watch?"

"Why?"

Connie turned her head to Amethyst. Her voice a moment ago was cold, and awfully blunt; it wasn't really question at all, more like a demand.

"Uh... I don't know, I'm just curious. I mean, you know I'm trying to get involved in gem stuff with Steven, so..."

Amethyst rolled her eyes, but nevertheless turned away. Connie breathed a sigh of relief.

While she hadn't let on, there was another, far more important reason for her doing this: she wanted to see what Peridot and Amethyst were planning _after_ they healed Jasper. Were they going to let her regenerate freely, or were they planning to put her back in the bubble?

Peridot walked to the edge of the fountain, and took an orange stone from her pocket. She was about to find out.

For a few moments, almost like she were sucking in the moment, Peridot held out Jasper's gem. Her hand was just above the pink tears, ready to plunge in at any time. But just before she did, she turned around as best she could and acknowledged Amethyst.

"Ready?"

"Just go."

Peridot plunged her hand in.

From what she could see, the cracks in Jasper's gem started healing up right away. First the biggest one right down the middle. Then the smaller ones, lining the edges. And finally, a few on the back and sides...

And just like that, the job was done. Mostly.

Peridot took her hand out of the tears. She gently sandwiched Jasper's gem between her palms, and concentrated; a bubble sprung up just a second later, encasing the stone before it had a chance to begin the regeneration process. Then she squeezed her hands, and the bubble disappeared.

And that was that.

* * *

Connie frowned.

So, they _didn't_ let her free. While she could see understand why, she couldn't help but be disappointed with the decision; why not give her a chance to speak her mind? Now they would never know...

"Okay, we're done here. Connie, you're coming with us."

Connie shook her thoughts away. She turned to Amethyst, who watched her back with a stern expression. "With you guys? But Pearl said to take Lion."

"Nah, he can find his own way home. You can just use the warp pad with us."

Amethyst started to walk back into the canyon. Connie watched her go for a moment, and then she swiveled to Peridot.

"Hey, Peridot?"

"Yes?"

"Listen, uh... if you don't mind, do you think we could talk about Jasper when we get back? _Alone?"_

Peridot took on a worried expression. Her attention darted to Amethyst for the briefest moment; she still had her back turned to the two, and she was still walking further and further away.

"... Yes, I would very much like to."

* * *

"Oog... where am I?"

Steven blinked his eyes. He kept them open for a moment, but then had to scrunch them under the glaring sun, beating down in a cloudless sky.

Steven dug his fingers into the sand. He tried to force himself up, but his arms and stomach wouldn't cooperate. He groaned under the pain for a moment, struggling for balance, before he finally gave up, and let his wobbling arms tumble down.

_"... Sand?"_

Steven ran his hand along the ground. It _was_ sand.

"Oh, you're awake!"

Steven's ears perked. He limply turned his head to the side (it was all he could manage), to where he thought he heard it. And sure enough, coming just up the beach—with her arms full, he noticed—was Lapis.

"Here, I got you these!" she said as she came to his side. She dumped her armful of coconuts on his stomach, earning a few oofs. "I know humans need to eat and drink, so be sure to make them last while I look for more."

"Lapis, where ARE we?!"

Lapis gave him a quizzical look. "Uh, an island. I'm not sure if humans have named the Earth's oceans, but it's in one of them. Anyway, I did a little looking around, and I found on the other side this—"

"No, no no no! Take me back!" As he spoke, Steven closed his eyes and tightened his face. He jammed his hands into the sand, and heaved himself up; it took a little doing, but with a touch more strength than last time, he sat up at last.

"Take you back? What—"

"Take me back home! Bring me back to Beach City, now!"

Lapis stared at Steven, mouth hanging just ajar, and eyes more than just a bit concerned. She shook her head.

"Steven, you know I can't do that. The Crystal Gems were planning to attack me, and I had to defend myself. I was hoping you'd understand that..."

Steven buried his face in his hands. She didhave a point with that particular statement—Pearl and Garnet were planning on bubbling her, they said it themselves—but _why_ did she think abducting him was a good idea? Now the Crystal Gems were going to hunt her down, and even worse...

"Lapis, why?"

"... Why what?"

"Why'd you have to DO that? Don't you know what this means? You attacked Garnet and _kidnapped_ me!"

"Yes, so I could get you out of there!" she refuted. "That was the whole point!"

"And do you want to know what happens now? Well?!"

Lapis stared Steven right in the eyes. Her heart sank at the sight of his face: tears fell freely down his cheeks, staining the sand below him. He sniffled a few seconds, and then angrily wiped his eyes with his fist, one at a time.

"Lapis, the Crystal Gems didn't like you before, but now... when they find us, they won't bubble you, they'll _shatter_ you! They won't negotiate, not anymore! And I can't convince them to stop and _think_ for a second, because you BROUGHT ME HERE! TAKE ME HOME!"

Steven took a ragged breath. He opened his mouth to talk again, and he lifted his head to look at her. Her face was suffused in concern, with her hands fidgeting with each other.

He couldn't go on.

Steven gasped in his tears. He lunged forward and grabbed Lapis in his arms, and he squeezed her as tightly as he could. He turned his head to the side, and forced himself to breathe as he hugged her close.

Lapis gasped. She looked down at the boy, face frozen in shock. "Steven?"

"I don't want you to get hurt..."

Lapis relaxed her shoulders.

Steven was upset with her. This much was obvious to anyone; between his crying and shouting, how much more did she need? If anything, she was surprised he wasn't trying to _fight_ her, after his reaction.

And yet here he was, crying his eyes out. Not from anger, but worry.

Without a word, Lapis poked her arms free from Steven's grip. He looked up to her face in question; what he was met with was a small, but very real smile. He tried to read her expression, but came up blank.

And then she hugged him back.

"Thank you, Steven..."

* * *

"Do we really need to have this talk on the beach?"

Connie stuck her hands in her pocket. She lazily kicked a few grains of sand, and watched them trail away in the wind. "Well yeah, if we don't want to be interrupted. Amethyst went back to her room, so she won't come out here."

Peridot sighed. Nevertheless, she walked the extra few steps to a nearby park bench, one of many on the boardwalk; she plopped down on the end, and Connie quickly filed in next to her.

"... Do you think it's right? What they're doing?"

Peridot hesitated. This was a question she'd wondered ever since they received Jasper's gem, and she still wasn't convinced she had an answer. Still, being honest was probably the best thing to do.

"I don't know. I mean, Jasper's done some pretty bad things in her life—so have I—but I don't think she deserves this. She was just following commands."

Connie nodded. "That's what I was thinking myself. I mean, aren't gems under strict rule on Homeworld?"

"Yes. There are many punishments for failing to obey orders... I don't even like to _think_ about what they'd do to me for what I told Yellow Diamond. In any event, if Jasper didn't follow through with capturing the Crystal Gems after learning of their presence, she would've been tried for treason."

Connie's eyes fell to her feet. She kept her hands still in her lap, but fidgeted her toes in her shoes. "Then it stands to reason she _might_ not be bad, right? What if she didn't want to do those things?"

"That's when it gets a little trickier," sighed Peridot. "I've known Jasper for a couple centuries now, and I _still_ don't have a good grasp on what she's really like. She's always angry at everything."

"Do you think it's because she's masking how she really feels?"

"Maybe, but I don't know. I wish I could've asked her before Amethyst caught me."

Connie rested her chin on her flattened hand. She blankly watched the ocean waves crash to the shore, one after another. But from the corner of her eye, she noticed Peridot fidgeting her hands a little bit, and she perked up just a touch.

"... Peridot?"

"Connie, I need your opinion. What do you think of me popping Jasper's bubble again so I can speak to her?"

Connie blinked. That was quick.

"Uh... I think it's a good idea! Provided you don't get caught, of course."

"Agreed. We should probably do it outside."

Connie smiled, the first one since their chat began. "Yes, I think... we?"

* * *

"Hey, Lapis?"

"Yes, Steven?"

Even though he'd just called for her, Steven paused. He kept flat on his back and his eyes glued to the starry night sky above, and lost himself to the sound of waves crashing on the beach. If he closed his eyes, maybe he could pretend it was home...

"Steven, you know you can tell me anything. What's on your mind?"

His eyes blinked open. Without a sound, he shifted from his back to his side, and locked eye contact with his friend. She herself lay several feet away, on a rather soft patch of beach grass.

"Lapis, please tell me... why do you hate the Crystal Gems so much?"

Lapis sighed. She had a feeling he'd ask this at some point, and now the time finally came. She sat up and moved closer to him.

"Steven, did I ever tell you story of how I was put in the mirror?" He shook his head, and a tint of excitement glazed his eyes. She was tempted to smile, but she forced it down. This story wasn't a happy one..

"It was a few thousand years ago. I was visiting Earth for a little while, on business from Homeworld. I was just supposed to be here a few month tops, and then off."

Steven obscured his face by turning away just a bit, and then he grinned. That sounded a little familiar.

"But then, well..." Lapis continued, "let's just say it got ugly. I was captured by some of Homeworld's forces, and stuck in that mirror."

"Captured?"

Lapis grimly nodded. She brought her hands to her arms, and angled herself away from Steven. "It was terrible... they interrogated me for years, _using_ me. They demanded information about the rebellion, things I didn't know."

"What did you tell them?" asked Steven. "Did you say you were neutral?"

"I tried, but they wouldn't listen," responded Lapis. "They were adamant on learning where the rebellion's base was... and about Rose Quartz, too."

Steven gasped, just loud enough for her to hear. His hand immediately shot to his stomach, and the smooth gemstone embedded. He rubbed his finger across it once or twice.

"My mom?"

Now Lapis turned to Steven again. Her eyes held a sad glaze, and it spread to his own as they locked. "Yes Steven, your mother. They wanted to know everything about her, and what she was planning. I had no idea."

Steven opened his mouth to speak. But his mind went a very different direction.

If Lapis was being completely truthful with her story, then... it made no sense. Why did she hate the Crystal Gems? They weren't the ones who interrogated her, _Homeworld_ did! Weren't _they_ her enemies, then?

"Wait, hold on a sec! You said it was Homeworld who interrogated you, not the Crystal Gems. Why did you side with _them_?"

"Because it was what happened _after_ the rebellion." Lapis paused for a moment, whether for effect or genuine fear he never knew. "I was at the galaxy warp for hundreds of years... until Pearl found my mirror. And she stored me in her gem."

"Yeah, and that's where you stayed until I met you... right?"

Lapis said nothing.

* * *

"Come on, Peridot, we're far enough away now. Pop the bubble."

"No, not yet! Not for... not for a few more feet."

Connie rolled her eyes. She was too well-mannered to ask, but would it _really_ make any difference if they were just a few feet more from Beach City than they already were? They already passed the sign with the seagull twenty minutes ago, they were far enough away!

"Okay, here. This is a nice spot."

_"It was also a nice spot back there..."_

Connie shook that thought out of her head. She knew Peridot was just being cautious, and with good reason. If anything, the extra paranoia was healthy, especially after the day's events.

Peridot glanced around the area, side to side. As usual, it was a big open meadow—they took care to get away from the road, of course—with just a few trees and rocks scattered about. She noticed a particularly large one nearby, so she walked to it and took a seat. Connie quickly joined her.

"... Are you sure you want to do this? It's not too late to go back."

Peridot nodded. "Positive. I need to know."

Peridot put Jasper's gem bubble between her palms. But just before she began to squeeze, she spared one last look at her friend.

"Connie, remember what I told you: Jasper doesn't know I've become a Crystal Gem yet. For your own safety, _do not mention_ we're affiliated with them, no matter the circumstances. Got it?"

"Yeah, got it. But... if you have to pretend like you still hate the Earth, then is it really smart for me to be around? I want to hear what she has to say too, but—"

"We rehearsed this, remember? You play the dim witted human accomplice that caters to my every whim because I'm, in these exact words, 'a cool space rock person,' and I'll be me. We'll be fine."

Connie stifled a laugh as she nodded.

Peridot closed her fingers around the bubble as far as she could. With one great clap of her hands, she broke right through the fine green surface, and popped the bubble. She caught Jasper's gem perfectly between her palms, gently and unharmed.

Peridot set the gem flat on the ground. Then she and Connie stood up from the rock and backed away, just a few steps. Both watched with wide eyes, and more than a hint of excitement. (And maybe a little nervousness, too.)

Jasper's gem started to glow. Just like last time, it jumped from the ground and suspended itself in the air, and then started to spin. And during its cycle, Jasper poked her limbs free from the flash, one at a time.

And then, after she had both her arms and legs, the flash broke off. Jasper tumbled to the ground.

"Jasper!"

Peridot wanted to take a step forward, but the touch of Connie's hand on her shoulder shrinked her back. There'd be plenty of time to ask questions later; it was best to let the other gem get a feel for herself first.

Jasper curled her fingers into the dirt, both hands at once. Peridot and Connie watched with nervous eyes, the excitement long since faded. They knew Jasper heard Peridot call her name. How long would it be until she acknowledged them?

And then she rose to her feet, from her hands and knees. She towered over the two.

"Peridot... you weren't lying about the fountain."


	11. Chapter 11

"Lapis, are you okay?"

Lapis wrapped her arms around her elevated knees. She pulled at her elbows and rested her head, lazily to the side, and away from Steven. He put his hand on her shoulder, but she didn't turn around.

"Lapis... I can't help you if you don't tell me what's bothering you. Please..."

Now Lapis cocked her head to him. She looked him dead in the eyes, and a frown spread across her face. He mirrored the expression.

"Steven, to be quite honest, I'm not sure I _should_ tell you."

"Why not?"

"Because..." Lapis's voice tapered off, a sigh overtaking it. "Because I'm worried about how you'll react to it, okay? I don't really know how, and I don't want to risk upsetting you more."

Steven's expression melted into one of confusion. He couldn't understand what Lapis meant by 'how he'd take' her story; he was trying to help her, couldn't she see that? Even if it _was_ something bad about the Crystal Gems, like he was assuming, he'd never be able to help her move on without getting it out there. Regardless of the news.

"Lapis, I'll be fine. Please, tell me."

Lapis said nothing for a moment. But then, with a slow nod of her head, she turned herself to face Steven. He patiently crossed his legs.

"... Steven, when Pearl found the mirror, she didn't just keep it in her gem. She showed it to Rose Quartz.

"My mom? Why? I thought she just kept the mirror hidden until she gave it to me."

"No, she didn't... she let _all_ of the Crystal Gems know about it. But she showed Rose first."

Steven scrunched his eyebrows. He had to admit, he hadn't _quite_ been expecting this story, and it wasn't getting any clearer yet. Why was it a big deal if Pearl did or did not tell the others about the mirror? What did they do with it?

He gulped.

"When she showed Rose Quartz," Lapis continued, "it didn't take them long to realize I was trapped in there. I still haven't forgotten what they said... 'A Lapis Lazuli She must be from Homeworld. From the war.'"

"'Then what should we do with her?'" Lapis spoke in a slightly different voice, imitating Pearl. Steven quickly gathered she was reciting a conversation from the past, one between Pearl and his mom.

"'Well, she's been trapped in this mirror... she might've been planning to defect, and Homeworld found out and imprisoned her.'"

"'Do you think she knows something, then? Information?'"

"'She might.'"

Steven's eyes grew wide. He now knew, in an instant, where she was taking this.

Lapis fell quiet at long last. She looked down at her feet, and lowered her hands to the beach. She balled her fingers into fists, grains of sand crinkling in her palms.

"Steven, they let me out of the mirror to interrogate me. I'm not surprised they didn't tell you that..."

"Interrogate? How? What did they do to you?"

"At first, it was just Rose. She would take me out of the mirror-gently, so it wouldn't break-and let me regenerate in this humongous room, with pink clouds everywhere..."

Steven's eye twitched.

"To be honest, I didn't mind it that much. I didn't know anything that they wanted, but it wasn't _awful_ being out of the mirror, even with a cracked gem."

"But why didn't my mom heal you? That doesn't make any sense, she'd have fixed your gem if she knew it was damaged. That's what she did."

Lapis shook her head, eyes closed in thought. "She used it as incentive. 'If you tell us what we want to know, I promise we'll fix your gem. Don't you want to stop being in pain? Just tell us...'"

Steven's face froze in shock, and he directed his eyes to the ocean ahead. No part of him wanted to believe what Lapis was saying, but... it sounded to him like the Crystal Gems—but especially his mom—USED her. Keeping her like a pet when they wanted to pry for information, and simply shoving her out of sight and out of mind otherwise. It was despicable.

It wasn't them.

"Lapis, is that true?"

Lapis's head snapped to Steven, eyes wide in shock. "What? Of course it is! Why would you even ask that?"

"Because it doesn't sound like her!" retorted Steven. "My mom wasn't like this! She was kind, and she loved _all_ life! She wouldn't leave you injured on purpose."

"Steven, your mother was the commander of the rebellion. She killed _thousands_ of gems, and spared no mercy on the battlefield. Interrogating one little Lapis Lazuli about Homeworld was like dust on her shoulder."

Steven swallowed nothing. He ran his top lip over his bottom, dry and crackled. His throat was remarkably similar.

"... Steven, your mother wanted to know if Homeworld was planning a second invasion, or if they left behind anything dangerous. Things that would damage the Earth. And she wouldn't believe I was trapped on accident, no matter how many times I asked."

Now Steven was quiet. He watched Lapis with sadness in his eyes, and she closely mirrored the glaze. But still, she chose to press on.

"It was off and on for a few hundred years. She'd let me out for a few days, then stick me back in the mirror for a few years."

"What did she do when she was asking you?" Steven's voice was quiet, barely above a whisper. He really didn't want to know the answer.

"She never physically hurt me. Neither did Pearl, or Garnet—"

"Wait, Pearl and Garnet?! I thought you said it was just my mom!"

Lapis shook her head. "It was, at first. But after a few times, she started bringing them into it, too. The other gem wasn't there at the time."

Steven brought a hand to his head. His fingertips rubbed across his forehead, and fast drenched in sweat as they did so. He quickly rubbed them on his shirt, and returned to Lapis.

"Steven, they never physically hurt me. I was injured enough from my gem cracks, and they knew it."

"But then what _did_ they do?" asked Steven. "Tell me!"

Lapis paused for a moment to collect her thoughts. She eyed Steven as she did so; his eyes were wide and unflinching, his face chiseled in a frown. It seemed to her that her story was getting through to him, but he still didn't quite understand it all. She hoped to change that.

"Steven, they would always ask me the same questions, over and over again. 'What is Homeworld planning? Why did they leave you behind? Are they coming back to Earth?' I'd tell them I didn't know, but they never believed me... it was insanity. They _knew_ they weren't going to get anything different, but they kept _pressing_ and _pressing,_ wanting more and more! When they KNEW I didn't have anything!"

Steven anxiously rubbed his toes against his sandals. He had no way of knowing for sure, but he couldn't understand why Pearl, Garnet, and _especially_ his mom refused to believe her. She was trapped in a mirror when they found her: lost, confused, and injured. She had absolutely no information to give, and from the account Lapis gave, they should've realized this. It was brutally obvious.

Why didn't they?

"After a few dozen tries, they just stopped and stuck me back in the mirror for good. Pearl put me back in her gem and left me there... until she gave me to you."

Steven said nothing. His mind still ran a mile a minute, and his gaze blankly stared out at the ocean. Lapis eyed him for a moment, and then spoke.

"Ste—"

"I'm sorry, Lapis, but I need some time to process this."

Steven rose to his feet. He balled his hands into fists, turned his back to Lapis, and stormed away.

* * *

"Um... hello again, Jasper."

Jasper didn't respond to Peridot; rather she looked down at her hand, fingers outstretched. She tightened them into a fist and loosed again, and a grin spread across her face. Nice and responsive... and it didn't hurt, either.

Jasper turned her attention to Connie and Peridot, making them both freeze for a moment. Her gaze fell upon the human girl, and she scrunched her eyebrows.

"Peridot, who is that."

It was a demand, not a question. Peridot's tongue caught on itself as her mind fumbled for a reply, but Connie kicked into action.

"Well hi there! I'm, uuuuhhhh, Corrine, and this here Perry Dot is my new cool space rock person best buddy! What's your name, stranger?"

Connie spoke in the most obnoxious accent she could manage. Peridot forced a laugh, a nervous chuckle she inwardly cringed at.

"Ha ha, yes. Jasper, meet my new human accomplice, Con-Corrine. I found her on the side of the road." Peridot leaned forward, and put her hand to the side of her mouth to shield her lips from Connie's eyes. "Between you and me, she's pretty dumb," she whispered to Jasper, "but she pretty much does whatever I say. She's been handy for fetching supplies."

Jasper's eyes trailed on Connie for a moment longer. The child felt a bead of sweat roll down the back of her neck, and her wide, falsely excited eyes throbbed in pain from keeping them open.

Jasper rolled her eyes. "Feh. You and your souvenirs."

Both Peridot and Connie breathed sighs of relief, as quietly as they could. Connie in particular.

_"Jeez, why did I agree to do this?! I just wanted to hear Peridot ask Jasper if she's really being herself... oog."_

"Peridot, tell me where we are."

Peridot's head snapped. She turned her eyes to Jasper's face, and found she was looking around the wide open meadow. Beach City was far enough in the distance that they couldn't see it, something Peridot was more than just a little appreciative about.

"Well, we're on Earth, obviously. I moved us from that one room we were in before."

"And what about the other gems? Where are they?"

"I... I don't know. Rose left your cracked gem on the beach, and I picked you up not long after. But I've been trailing them for a long time, hoping to find you."

Peridot bit her tongue as soon as she finished talking. She silently hoped her lie was believable; if it wasn't, she knew the consequences wouldn't be pretty...

Jasper raised her fists and cracked her knuckles, and then her neck. She sat down on the spot and crossed her legs, and Peridot decided to follow suit. "Corrine" stayed standing, staring off into space with a blank, thoughtless expression.

"You've been 'trailing' those gems to find me?"

Peridot nodded. "For months now. I tried to locate you by myself, but I wasn't getting anywhere. I needed... help, and they gave it to me. Unwittingly."

Now Jasper crossed her arms as well. She eyed Peridot with a cold, thoughtful gaze, and it was returned with more than just a hint of nervousness. The green gem hoped she was doing a good job at hiding it, but she could tell her cover was slipping with every passing question.

"We need to get back to Homeworld."

Peridot inaudibly gulped, and nodded once more. "I agree. If Rose and those other gems find us, I'm not sure we can fight them off again."

"There's a galaxy warp pad on this planet, is there not?" Jasper glanced around the meadow once again, as if the pad would magically appear nearby. "We can use that to escape."

"I... I tried that already. It's broken beyond repair."

Jasper's attention slowly returned to Peridot. Peridot offered a nervous smile and a shrug of her shoulders, but was met with cold silence. Connie took note of this, however, and decided to intervene.

"Heh heh, uh, what are we all talking about? More of that rock stuff?"

"NO! Corrine, lie down and go to sleep. And forget everything you just heard."

Connie enthusiastically nodded. Without wasting any time, she dropped on the spot, rolled on her side, and turned her back to Jasper and Peridot. When her face was safely hidden from the two, however, it quickly melted into an expression of relief.

By being ordered to fall asleep (and her pretending to oblige), Connie knew she could listen in on the conversation without participating. Having the both of them there meant there was that much greater a chance of their cover being blown, but now it was much less likely with only Peridot doing the talking. It was quick thinking on her part.

"Jasper, the warp pad is destroyed," continued Peridot, "and so is the ship. There's no way of returning to Homeworld."

"Then FIND a way!" roared Jasper, startling the other gem. "Yellow Diamond needs to know what happened here. Then she can send reinforcements, and I can GLADLY take part in crushing this _miserable, useless_ planet to NOTHING!"

Peridot shuddered. She sounded just like Yellow Diamond, over the communication line. The difference was, the gem she was speaking to was face-to-face this time. Terrified to furious face, that is.

But still, it presented an opportunity to get her point across. And Peridot knew she had to take it.

"... Jasper, is that what you really want to do?"

Jasper scrunched her eyebrows, and a frown emerged. "What? Isn't it obvious enough to you?"

"No, I mean... look, just hear me out. What I mean is, do you _really_ want to destroy this planet?"

"It's part of the mission now."

Peridot shook her head, interrupting the other. "Forget the mission for a second; just think about _you._ Do you REALLY want to destroy this entire planet? Of 7 billion humans, and countless other sentient species and resources?"

The frown on Jasper's lips widened. Her eyes glared angrily into Peridot's, instilling a sense of fear in her. She started to tremble.

"I don't know what's gotten into you, Peridot, but you better get your head in the game _now._ " growled Jasper. "This is starting to sound like treason."

"N-no, of course not! Nothing like that, don't be ridiculous!" Peridot waved her hands in front of her, as if she needed to push Jasper back. "It's just that I've spent a lot of time on this planet now. Unwillingly, mind you, but I have. And I've learned some things about it that would serve the empire better if it were... intact."

"Like what."

Peridot gulped. "Well, um... the resources! There are many different resources here, unique to this planet alone. What sense does it make to destroy it when we can harvest these for ourselves?"

In her mind, Peridot screamed at herself. Homeworld's definition of "harvesting" was even worse than destroying the planet outright. She and the others knew that from the Moon base...

"And?"

Peridot shook her head, breaking her thoughts. "Oh... um, how about humans, too?" Peridot looked over at Connie, who still lay on her side, back turned to them. "Sure, they're technologically incompetent and clearly inferior to us gems, but they could still be useful in some ways. Besides, they pose no threat to us, so what's the use in exterminating them?"

Peridot fell quiet. She looked Jasper in the eyes, hoping to see some kind of change; to her dismay, the same vicious glare from before remained. If anything, it was _stronger..._ and focused right on her.

"Peridot, let me make myself clear. I don't give a _damn_ about resources, humans, or the Earth. All I want is to take this stupid planet, wipe it clean from Homeworld's maps, and be done with it. _Y_ _our_ job is to find a way to get us back to Yellow Diamond so we can get _started_ with that, so GET GOING!"

Peridot blinked. It seemed she had her answer about Jasper.

She started to sweat.

* * *

Steven trudged down the nighttime beach, head low and hands buried deep in pockets. He kept his eyes planted to his feet, and his back hunched just a touch. The stray salt whipping through the air from the ocean stung his eyes a bit, but he made no effort to shield them.

It'd been well over an hour since his talk with Lapis, and he still needed yet more time to process. Was everything she said even true? But then again, why would she lie to him? Maybe she was just trying to make the Crystal Gems look bad, so he wouldn't trust them anymore...

Or maybe he was in denial.

Steven's train of thought screeched to a halt as he stepped on a rock, lodged in the sand. It was just a little smaller than his foot. He bent over and plucked it from the ground, and turned it over in his hand. The rough, coarse texture rubbed against his fingers, and he winced at the feeling.

_"Interrogating one little Lapis Lazuli about Homeworld was like dust on her shoulder."_

Steven scrunched his eyebrows. As the memory ran through his head, he gripped the rock tighter.

_"She'd let me out for a few days, then stick me back in the mirror for a few years."_

He held the rock even harder. His knuckles turned white.

_"They would always ask me the same questions, over and over again... I'd tell them I didn't know, but they never believed me."_

"AAAAAHHH!"

With a great windup of his arm, Steven chucked the rock. He threw it as far out into the ocean as he could, and he watched it fly for hundreds of feet; superhuman strength was a wondrous thing... but all the power in the world wouldn't help him now.

He stood still as a statue for a moment, unblinking. And then, with a groan, he plopped down on the spot, laid out flat on his back, and spread his arms wide. His eyes trickled up to the infinite reach of the night sky, and the stars that dotted it; he noticed one in particular, an orange light streaking high across the sky. An airplane. Commercial. Oh, how he wished he could be on it, to just fly away from it all...

Steven closed his eyes. Sleep was already overtaking him.


	12. Chapter 12

"We need to head back to the temple. Regroup and come up with a plan."

Pearl said nothing to Garnet. She kept her hands glued behind her back, and she paced back and forth, back and forth, back and forth... her teammate was tempted to roll her eyes. All three of them.

"Pearl, we lost him again. There's no use dwelling on it."

"I'M NOT DWELLING, ALL RIGHT?! I'm... I'm thinking of what to do!"

Now Garnet rolled them. "It'd be a lot better if you did that _with_ us instead of by yourself."

Pearl stared at her teammate, mouth hanging open, hand balled, and index finger pointed up. But after a moment or two of silence, she dropped her hand, shut her mouth, and sighed.

"... Yes, you're right. I'm sorry, Garnet."

"It's fine. We're all under tremendous stress, it's understandable."

Pearl sulked over to Garnet, head hung low. She plopped down next to her on the rock, and folded her hands.

"Where _are_ we, even?"

"I have no idea," shrugged Garnet. "Some island in the ocean. It's nice."

Pearl lifted her head and glanced around. Trees swayed gently in the wind, the neverending ripple of the ocean against the beach, even an occasional bird flying overhead with a noise or two to make. Garnet was right, it _was_ nice.

Especially for someone else.

"Do you think they went back to Mask Island? It's one of the most familiar spots on Earth for Lapis at this point, so-"

Garnet shook her head, interrupting Pearl. "No, definitely not. She's too smart to go back there. Besides, I've checked my future vision a few times, and... I don't know where they are."

"Well, at least give some locations! Surely you have a few places narrowed down."

To Pearl's dismay, Garnet shook her head once more. Her face fell crestfallen. "No, I don't. One future has them landing on an island just like this, another one a populated city, even one back at the temple. But none of them are definite... and none of them help us."

Pearl groaned. She put her hand on her forehead, the tips of her fingers gently rubbing her gem. "I understand... he could be anywhere on the planet, couldn't he."

Garnet hesitated for a moment. But after a quiet deep breath, she nodded.

Pearl, on the other hand, lowered her hand from her face and crossed her arms. She stared at Garnet for a touch longer, eventually earning her attention. She couldn't see her teammate's eyes behind her shades, but she had an idea she was a bit confused.

"Garnet, I need you to tell me. In any of the futures you saw, did Lapis tell Steven about... _it?"_

Garnet's mouth plummeted into a frown. From behind her sunglasses, she tightly closed her three eyes, half in frustration, and half in sadness.

"In all of them."

* * *

"Corrine, wake up. It's time to rise."

Connie rolled over to her other side at once. Peridot was still sitting down cross legged, while Jasper was up and about. The larger gem had her back turned to them, and it was very apparent she wasn't listening.

"You heard all that, right?" whispered Peridot, in a much quieter voice. Connie nodded.

"Yeah, all of it... I guess now we know what kind of a gem Jasper is. I still believe it's wrong, but I think we _need_ to put her back in the bubble now."

Peridot blinked. Then she laughed, just once.

"Uh... that isn't exactly an option anymore. You know that, right?"

"Wait, what?! You... you don't have a way of catching her again?"

"That's correct, unless you think you can take Jasper in a fistfight. I probably should've mentioned this earlier, but you left your sword at the fountain."

Connie gagged. Her eyes widened as the thought seeped into her mind; Peridot was right. They had no way of fighting Jasper off (though Connie doubted she could take her on even if she _did_ have the sword), and thus no method of trapping her in the bubble. She was free to do as she wanted... and if a few minutes ago was any indication, she wanted to return to Homeworld.

And destroy the Earth, too. Can't forget that.

"PERIDOT!"

Peridot's head snapped to Jasper. She'd turned around at some point during her talk with Connie, and she was looking the green gem dead in the eyes. Peridot gulped, but nodded anyway.

"Peridot, order the human to rise and follow. We're moving out."

"Moving out? Where?"

Jasper turned her head. She looked out beyond the meadow, fists balled tight, and eyebrows scrunched in apparent anger. Peridot and Connie swapped glances, nervousness shining both their eyes.

"Somewhere that we can contact Homeworld. Human!"

Connie blinked in surprise, but then quickly put on a dumb smile; she couldn't risk breaking character. "Uh, yep?"

"I know humans have invented radio communication. Lead me to a hub powerful enough to contact the Yellow Diamond quadrant of the universe."

"Hee hee, you got it! Just give me a minute to, eh, _consult_ with me best bud."

Connie put her hand on Peridot's shoulder, and they both turned their backs to Jasper. They crouched low, and spoke in furious whispers:

"What do I say? What do I tell her?!"

"I have no idea. But whatever you do, you _can't_ lead her back to Beach City!"

"What? Why not? Then Garnet and Pearl can help us defeat her!"

"And have a huge battle in the middle of the town? We can't have that, people will get hurt. Who knows what Jasper will do?"

"But what about _us,_ Peridot? She'll realize we're leading her nowhere eventually!"

Peridot stood up and turned around. She wore a big, fake grin all over her face.

"She says she knows just the place! We'll follow her."

Connie looked at her with wide, desperate eyes. The faux smile washed away from Peridot's face, swapped for a blank expression with sorrow filled eyes. "Sorry..." she whispered. "We'll come up with a plan in a bit."

"What are we waiting for, then? Let's go."

Connie gulped. She slowly rose to her feet, and turned her back to the two. She faced the open plains, opposite the direction of Beach City.

"Yes. Let's go."

* * *

_"I knew I shouldn't have told him."_

As the thought crossed her mind, Lapis shook her head. Whether he was upset or not, letting him know what was bothering her was the right thing to do. She couldn't just sit around and brood without him knowing _forever,_ after all.

But maybe for a while longer. The doubt in her mind returned.

_"Maybe he won't even come back... no, that's ridiculous. Even if he wanted to leave, he can't get off the island. He's stuck here..."_

Lapis sighed and rolled her eyes.

The island. A nice place, sure. Lush forest, beautiful beaches, even a small mountain! Nice and remote, too, far from civilization.

That last bit was a problem for Steven.

While _she_ liked the island for its isolation-truth be told, they could probably hide from the gems for hundreds of years here-Steven was an entirely different matter. She didn't know a huge amount about humans, but she did know they needed certain resources. Food, for one thing. And on the island, she knew it was going to be in short supply.

And of course, the psychological effect, too.

If his reaction when he woke up was any indication, Steven already missed home. Badly. And regardless of what she did to make their situation as nice as possible, it simply wouldn't be a substitute for him. Not now, and not ever. He didn't _want_ to stay, and there was nothing she could do to instill that in him.

Lapis sighed. _"We'll figure it out when he comes back..."_

* * *

Pearl watched the islands whip by below her. One after another, and another, and another, and _another..._ it was an endless number, really.

And Steven could be on any one of them.

Pearl shook her head as the thought crossed her mind. Wherever the child was, it _definitely_ wasn't on one of these. They were probably somewhere bigger, like one of the continents. Heck, maybe even still flying.

But she didn't know.

"Garnet?" said Pearl, raising her voice against the roaring wind. The bird form of her teammate cocked her head back, signaling her attention. "What are we going to do when we get back?"

"Meet with Amethyst and Peridot. We'll put our heads together and think of something when we get there."

Pearl nodded, but with a frown. She didn't say it out loud, but in her head she immediately questioned the plan; what good would it be to turn to Amethyst and Peridot, aside from merely filling them in? It wasn't like they knew anything more than she and Garnet did.

Pearl shrugged. There was no harm in asking.

"Garnet, what exactly are you planning? I don't really see much use in going to Peridot and Amethyst, they don't know anything."

"Not right now, no. But we need to fill them in. And I have a feeling Peridot will be the key to helping us find Lapis."

"Peridot?" Pearl brushed her hand over her forehead, swiping away a few loose locks of hair. "How?"

"She knows Lapis better than any of us. I know it's a long shot, but we have to try everything we can."

Pearl said nothing. She pressed her hand to her wind matted hair, keeping it from drifting in her vision further, and stared straight ahead. The coast was coming up soon, and eventually Beach City. It would only be a few more minutes...

"Yeah, I guess. I just hope this doesn't backfire. I have a feeling it will."

"We'll be fine. We have to get a lead somewhere."

"Yes, but how is this a _lead?"_ Pearl shook her head, though she knew Garnet couldn't see it. "We're going back to where we started without so much as a hint ourselves, and we're somehow supposed to get one from them?"

"Like I said, I know it's a long shot!" said Garnet. She raised her voice at the end of her statement. "But as it stands right now, the trail's dead. She used the ocean to get away, and we can't compete with that. Right now, the best hope is to have Peridot give us her best guess on what she might do, and the truth is she'll probably know that better than any of us."

"We're wasting time. Let's get back out there."

"We're done discussing this."

Pearl rolled her eyes.

* * *

"Human!"

"Uhyep?"

"How much further?"

Connie put her hand above her eyes, blotting out the sun. She slowly swiveled her gaze around, taking it all in: the lust meadow, the bountiful clouds, the endless fields ahead... pretending like she was looking for something.

"Uh, I don't know. A little while more."

Jasper sneered. She ran her boot along the ground, scratching a line in the dirt. When she finished it, she admired her creation for a moment... and then stepped on it.

"Great. Keep going."

Connie nodded. She continued her brisk pace ahead, Jasper in tow, and Peridot at her side. From the corner of her eye, however, she glanced at the green gem. "Psst!"

"What?" whispered Peridot.

"What are we even doing here? You know she's gonna realize we're not leading here anywhere eventually, right?"

"Yes, of course I do! And I've been thinking of a plan." Peridot slightly craned her neck, and struggled to see behind her; Jasper had her eyes glued to the ground, not at them. "But we'll have to be... careful."

"Careful?"

"Here's what I've been thinking: one of us has to slip away and alert the Crystal Gems. Then we have to get them out here, in this isolated area, and have them help us put Jasper back in her bubble."

"But then why didn't we just go back to Beach City in the first place?!" Connie replied. "This doesn't make any sense, you forcing me to lead her out here's only making things harder!"

"I know that! It's just, well... I..."

Peridot closed her eyes and sighed. Connie's eyes quickly melted from anger to a small trace of sympathy.

"Connie, I didn't want them to see what I'd done. It was my idea to let Jasper go, and now I think we can both see that was a mistake. I didn't want to take responsibility... I'm sorry."

Connie eyed Peridot. The gem couldn't even so much as look in her direction; she kept her eyes closed (Connie imagined in shame), and her head hung low. Her feet dragged along the ground, and by matching her pace, she significantly slowed them down.

"Hey! What's the delay? Keep moving!"

Peridot's eyes snapped open. She stopped.

"Jasper, Corrine informed me of something urgent."

"Urgent?"

"Indeed. She said in order for the communication hub she's leading us to to work, she requires an external power supply. She'll have to return to her base to collect it. Now."

Jasper's face, blank a moment ago, quickly contorted in anger. "Wait, go _back?_ You mean you've been leading us out here for nothing?!"

"Uh, nope!" jumped in Connie. "The base, is, uuuuuuhhh, just a little ways away! I'll be back in a jiffy, yep!"

Peridot bit her tongue to suppress a laugh. Connie really was a master at her role.

"... Fine. Go. Make it quick."

Connie quickly nodded. Without even a glance at either gem, she took off sprinting away, back the way they came. Back to Beach City...

She had a job to do.

* * *

Steven jumped up. He couldn't quite reach it, but he was getting close.

Growing on a particularly large palm tree, a bright orange bunch of fruit beckoned. They were roughly the size of oranges, and to Steven, they looked like some sort of berry. He wasn't quite sure what kind they were, but he didn't particularly care; as long as they weren't poisonous, they were edible, and he needed food. The coconuts Lapis gave him weren't cutting it.

Steven stared up at the highest palm leaves, arms crossed. He knew climbing the tree was impossible; the trunk was way too bare to get a grip, and it was too big to wrap his arms around. There was no hope of jumping that high, either, but maybe if he could throw something...

Steven glanced around the beach. Lodged in the sand a few feet away, a rock stuck out. He walked over and yanked it free; it was a good size, only a little smaller than his palm. If he could get a good throw at the palm tree, he could probably knock the entire bunch down... and he'd have himself a meal.

Steven turned to the tree. He raised the rock high, ready to throw. He closed one eye and stuck his tongue out a little, aiming carefully...

With a heave, he chucked the rock at the palm tree. It sailed right over the top, high into the sky, and gone.

"..."

He looked at the tree. The leaves swayed gently in the wind... mocking him. Or so he felt.

"AAAGH!"

Steven sprinted at the tree. He stuck his arms out, and his hands collided with the trunk; he dug at the bark with his fingers, desperately vying for a grip. He never got it.

With a grunt, he then started to shake the tree. But even with all his strength, he couldn't shake anything loose. Whatever this tree was made of... THE TREE.

Steven let go. He took a step back, his head rising. He saw the bright orange berries again, calling him...

"COME ON, CAN'T YA CUT ME A BREAK?! LET ME UP THERE!"

Steven hopped once. Not enough. He hopped again. _Still_ not enough. Actually, shorter than last time.

And then he jumped again. He flew right up in the air, high above the tree _._ Above _all_ the trees.

He didn't fly up for long. He quickly lost momentum, and gravity took over from there. But when his ascent stopped, he didn't plummet to the ground; rather, he found himself suspended in place, slowly drifting down. He was FLOATING!

Somehow.

_"Wha-uh-when-I... HELP! HELP!"_

Steven's emotions brewed over in panic. He started to fall faster; by that point, though, he was already close to the ground. He softly fell face first into the sand.

_"... What was that?"_

Steven lifted himself up. He rose to his feet and brushed the sand from his shirt.

Even now, he still had no clue what just overtook him, but whatever it was, it had never happened to him before. He didn't understand it, either; was he flying? Hovering? And how did he jump so high in the first place? Even with superhuman strength, he could never go that far, not before. Otherwise he would've grabbed the fruit from the palm tree long ago.

He had to know if it was a fluke or not.

Steven jumped again, but softer. He effortlessly rose into the air, and stopped just at the top of the palm tree. He reached out and grabbed the fruit.

He grinned. It seemed he had a little control over it.


End file.
